Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress has launched a stinging attack on Anambra State Governor Charles Soludo, accusing him of sycophancy and of reducing the exalted office of state governor to that of a presidential spokesman, after Soludo heaped praise on President Bola Tinubu for approving the design and procurement of two major road projects in the South-East. Comrade Adolphus Ude, who leads the ADC Like-Minds support group and serves as Secretary of the Enugu ADC Caretaker Committee, challenged Soludo to list any road projects actually executed by President Tinubu in the South-East that would justify the governor's lavish praise. Ude's criticism, contained in a statement issued on Thursday, July 16, 2026, came just hours after Soludo had declared that President Tinubu was deliberately rebuilding the South-East and that "history will be kind" to the President.
Soludo had on Thursday thanked President Tinubu for approving the design and procurement of two strategic federal roads: the 108-kilometre Otuocha–Anam–Abaji Road linking Anambra to Kogi State, and the 150-kilometre Oba–Nnewi–Uga–Ihube (Okigwe Junction) Road connecting Anambra and Imo states to the Enugu–Port Harcourt Expressway through Abia State. In a statement titled "History Will Be Kind to You," Soludo described the approval as part of Tinubu's deliberate effort to rebuild the South-East and heal the wounds of the Civil War. The governor also praised Tinubu for what he described as "unprecedented, foundational infrastructural rebirths" already underway in the region.
Ude, however, dismissed Soludo's remarks as excessive and unfounded, arguing that praising a president for approving design and procurement—not the actual award of contracts—was an act of sycophancy that belittles Ndigbo before other Nigerians. "It is embarrassing to see Governor Soludo, in spite of his academic standing as a professor, join presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga in spreading the unfounded propaganda that no President has made a more deliberate effort to rebuild the South-East than President Tinubu," Ude said. "Beneath this excessive praise of the President always lies a fragile self-worth". The ADC chieftain lamented that across Nigeria, Ndigbo are now regarded as bootlickers because of the tendency of South-East governors to prioritise gaining favour, promotions or protection from the Federal Government through insincere flattery and servile behaviour towards the President.
Ude stressed that he was not opposed to Governor Soludo or his All Progressives Grand Alliance party supporting President Tinubu, insisting that it is their democratic right to support whomever they wish. However, he warned that South-East governors should desist from dragging the entire region along with them in their support for the President. "Nobody is against Governor Soludo or his village party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), supporting President Bola Tinubu. It is their choice to support whomever they wish. We are practising democracy in Nigeria. However, they should desist from dragging the entire South-East along with them in their support for President Tinubu," Ude declared.
The ADC chieftain further argued that Tinubu has not executed any new road project or significant reconstruction work on any existing highway in the South-East to warrant the kind of praise Soludo and other South-East governors have been offering. He pointed out that no part of the South-East was considered, even as a bypass, for Tinubu's two legacy greenfield road projects—the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road, costing the Federal Government over N17 trillion, and the N1.8 trillion Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway, for which the Federal Government has secured a $516.3 million syndicated loan. "The media reported the other day that Federal Government projects in Lagos State alone were worth over N3 trillion, while the South-East continues to wait for meaningful federal infrastructure investment," Ude noted.
Ude's criticism also touched on the broader issue of South-East marginalisation under the Tinubu administration. He insisted that the exclusion of the South-East from infrastructure development has worsened, citing as an example the concession of the region's only international airport, the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, to a private company. He also noted that the South-East has only five ministers in the Federal Executive Council, with three serving as ministers of state—a fact he said underscores the region's marginalisation. "The sycophantic behaviour of Governor Soludo and other South-East governors not only diminishes their own self-worth but also that of Ndigbo before other Nigerians," Ude said.
The ADC chieftain's outburst comes amid growing political realignments in the South-East, where some governors have begun to openly support President Tinubu's re-election bid ahead of the 2027 general elections. Soludo, who was re-elected for a second term in March 2026, has previously declared his support for Tinubu's re-election and has argued that Igbos should participate fully in national politics rather than agitate for secession. His latest praise of the President has been seen by political observers as part of a broader strategy to secure federal support for infrastructure development in Anambra State.
However, Ude's intervention highlights the deep divisions within the South-East political class over the region's relationship with the Federal Government. While some leaders, like Soludo and Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, have sought to build bridges with the Tinubu administration, others, like Ude and the ADC leadership, have maintained that the South-East remains marginalised and owes no political loyalty to a President who lost all five states in the region during the 2023 presidential election. Ude had previously described the endorsement of Tinubu by South-East governors as "inconsequential" and insisted that they lack the capacity to deliver votes in the region.
The controversy over Soludo's praise of Tinubu also reflects the broader debate over the Federal Government's infrastructure commitments to the South-East. While the Tinubu administration has approved the design and procurement of several road projects in the region, critics have argued that approvals are not the same as actual construction and that the pace of work on existing federal roads, including the Enugu-Onitsha, Enugu-Port Harcourt, and Owerri-Onitsha expressways, has been slow. Ude's challenge to Soludo to list completed Tinubu road projects in the South-East is likely to resonate with many residents who have yet to see tangible improvements in federal infrastructure in the region.
As the 2027 elections approach, the battle for the political soul of the South-East is likely to intensify. Soludo's open support for Tinubu and his praise for the President's infrastructure efforts will be tested against the reality of federal investment in the region. Ude's criticism serves as a reminder that not all South-East leaders share Soludo's enthusiasm for the Tinubu administration, and that the region remains a contested political terrain. For now, the ADC chieftain has made his position clear: praising the President for mere approvals is sycophancy, and Soludo should wait until roads are actually built before declaring that history will be kind to Tinubu.
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