Reason Why Governor Soludo Cannot Forgive Peter Obi

 

Reason Why Governor Soludo Cannot Forgive Peter Obi

According to The Nation, Southeast Nigeria, especially Anambra State, has produced many accomplished individuals capable of leading the nation. During President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration (1999–2007), Anambra indigenes held key national positions. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, now Anambra’s governor, served as Central Bank Governor. The late Dora Akunyili led the fight against counterfeit drugs, while Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Obiageli Ezekwesili held prominent roles. At the time, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) dominated Southeast politics.

In 2002, Igbo leader Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu supported the formation of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), led by Chekwas Okorie. Ojukwu ran for president in 2003 under APGA, securing less than 2% of the vote.

However, his aim was to strengthen Southeast influence through strategic alliances, recognizing that no region could win the presidency alone—a lesson evident in the Southwest’s success in 1993, 1999, and 2023. Ojukwu saw a unified Southeast vote as leverage for national power-sharing. APGA has remained Anambra’s ruling party and briefly governed Imo State under Rochas Okorocha. The 2023 presidential election presented an opportunity for the Southeast, but Peter Obi, a former APGA governor, disrupted this vision.

Despite earlier pledges to remain in APGA, Obi defected to the PDP in 2019 and later to the Labour Party for the 2023 presidential race. His departure sparked tension with Soludo, who saw it as a betrayal of Ojukwu’s vision. Soludo argues that an APGA-based candidacy could have united Igbo votes and built national alliances. Obi’s campaign, driven by youth support but seen as strategically weak, left the Labour Party fragmented.

Soludo believes lasting political power requires strategy, unity, and compromise—elements he feels Obi’s move undermined.