Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The founding National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Chief Chekwas Okorie, has accused Anambra State Governor Professor Chukwuma Soludo of using his support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a cover to attack the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Mr Peter Obi, describing the governor’s conduct as a vicious and vile vendetta that must stop immediately.
Okorie made the allegation in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday, October 1, 2026, in which he criticised what he described as Soludo’s continued attacks on Obi, the former governor of Anambra State. According to Okorie, Obi has continued to show respect and extend courtesies to Soludo despite the governor’s alleged criticisms of him. “I have watched with disgust and utter disappointment, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo’s vicious and vile vendetta against Mr. Peter Obi,” Okorie said. “Mr. Peter Obi has not for a moment ceased to extend his usual courtesies and respect to Prof. Soludo at any given opportunity even as Prof. Soludo is on his vituperations on Obi”. He alleged that Soludo had been hiding under the cover of supporting President Tinubu to express his opposition to Obi. “There have never been any altruistic motives behind the public posturing of Gov. Soludo to support President Tinubu for the 2027 presidential election. He is hiding under the cover of the so-called support for Tinubu to unleash his personal vendetta on Mr. Peter Obi,” Okorie said.
Okorie traced the strained relationship between the two politicians to three major political developments spanning more than a decade. The first was the 2009 Anambra governorship election, in which Obi, who was seeking a second term, defeated Soludo, who contested on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party. “Peter Obi won the election resoundingly and beat Soludo to a distant third position. This is Peter Obi’s first ‘offense’ to Soludo,” Okorie said. The second was Soludo’s disqualification from the APGA governorship primary in August 2013 under the leadership of Chief Victor Umeh, an action Okorie said Soludo had blamed on Obi and described as the greatest humiliation of his life. The third, according to Okorie, was the Anambra Central senatorial primary ahead of the 2023 general elections, where Umeh lost the APGA ticket and subsequently won the election on the platform of the Labour Party, a development Okorie attributed to Obi’s popularity. “The above three ‘offenses’ are the real reasons Prof. Chukwuma Soludo swore to bring down Mr. Peter Obi by any means possible,” he alleged.
Okorie also recalled Soludo’s 2022 article titled “History Beckons And I Will Not Remain Silent,” describing it as the beginning of the governor’s public criticisms of Obi ahead of the 2023 presidential election. He described Obi as the most outstanding and the most popular presidential candidate on the presidential ballot and said the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket was the most formidable combination in any presidential election in Nigeria after the Shagari/Ekwueme presidential ticket of the Second Republic.
The intervention by the APGA founder comes amid a broader political realignment in Anambra State and the South-East ahead of the 2027 general elections, scheduled for January 16, with the governorship and state assembly elections following on February 6. Soludo has publicly endorsed President Tinubu for a second term and declared that APGA will not field a presidential candidate, a decision that has drawn criticism from within his own party and from opposition figures. In May 2025, Okorie had already berated Soludo for assuring Tinubu of his adoption as APGA’s presidential candidate, saying the governor lacked the capacity to make such a commitment on behalf of the party. The APGA Board of Trustees had also called for Soludo to be sanctioned over what it described as anti-party activities.
The political dynamics of the South-East have become increasingly complex as the 2027 elections approach. Obi, who won overwhelming support in the region in 2023, is seeking the presidency again on the NDC platform with Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso as his running mate. His candidacy has galvanised the Obidient movement, which has continued to mobilise support across the country despite internal disputes over the status of its campaign structures. Soludo’s decision to back Tinubu rather than Obi, a fellow Igbo and former Anambra governor, has been a source of tension in the region, where many voters view the 2027 election as an opportunity to support one of their own for the presidency.
Okorie urged Soludo to concentrate on the affairs of Anambra State, saying several issues affecting residents required the governor’s attention. “There are several issues challenging the people of Anambra State that are sufficient to keep Prof. Soludo busy. Prof. Soludo should be mindful of the verdict of history,” he said. “Prof. Chukwuma Soludo leave Mr. Peter Obi alone”. In a more pointed passage, Okorie invoked the Igbo concept of retributive justice, saying, “He should also be mindful of the Igbo god of retributive justice, the merciless AMADIOHA. There are families in Igbo land today who are still suffering from the stigma of the abominations of their forebears. A word is enough for the wise”.
Soludo has not issued a formal response to Okorie’s statement as of Thursday evening. The Anambra State Government has previously defended the governor’s position on the 2027 presidential election, framing his support for Tinubu as a strategic decision aimed at ensuring that the South-East benefits from federal projects and appointments. The governor has consistently argued that the region must abandon what he has described as an alliance of protest and embrace an alliance for progress and prosperity. Obi’s campaign has not commented publicly on Okorie’s intervention, but the former Anambra governor has consistently said he does not respond to personal attacks and prefers to focus on issues affecting Nigerians.
For the people of Anambra State, the dispute between Okorie and Soludo reflects a broader debate about the political direction of the South-East and the role of the region’s leaders in the 2027 presidential contest. For the APGA, the intervention by its founding chairman raises questions about internal cohesion as the party navigates the decision by its only governor to support a presidential candidate from another party. For the 2027 election, the exchange between Okorie and Soludo underscores the intensity of the political battle for the South-East’s votes, a region that will be critical to the outcome of the presidential election. As Okorie put it, Soludo should leave Peter Obi alone and focus on governing Anambra State. Whether the governor heeds that advice or continues to campaign for Tinubu’s re-election in the region will be closely watched in the coming months.
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