How Soludo will win Anambra election and Tinubu’s knack for selecting leaders

This weekend, we discuss two distinct topics. These are: evidence to show that Governor Chukwuma Soludo will likely achieve well above 85% of legally cast votes in the November 2025 gubernatorial elections and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s knack for identifying and selecting leaders. In the latter, we argue that President Tinubu’s natural talent for identifying and grooming leaders is an important asset for Nigeria at this point in its history and in the coming years.

Many political commentators and social scientists might query the possibility of a candidate obtaining over 85% of legally cast votes in a free and fair election. But there are numerous examples where this feat has been achieved by very popular politicians. And in the case of Anambra, the factors that make such feat to be achieved are at play.

There are several examples of leaders who have won landslide victories in competitive elections. In 1991, Zviad Gamsakhurdia won over 87% of cast vote in Georgia. This election was seen as a free and fair election in post-Soviet Georgia. And in 1994, though Nelson Mandela ended up having an average of 62.65% of cast votes, he obtained about 90% of cast votes in many districts. This was seen as a free and fair election even by his opponents.

There are many factors that result in a landslide victory in a free and fair election. One of which is the track record of a candidate as regards capacity and performance. Another has to do with a weak, dysfunctional and unserious opposition. We shall discuss these two broad factors.

Even the greatest critics of Governor Soludo cannot deny the fact that he has broken new grounds in Anambra and significantly transformed Anambra in the last 3 years. Despite all the transformation witnessed, Governor Soludo has continuously told the people and residents of Anambra that ‘’you ain’t seen nothing yet’’. There is no doubt in the minds of the electorate that Anambra would be significantly transformed at the end of Governor Soludo’s second tenure. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu attested to this transformation last Thursday. President Tinubu’s view on Soludo’s performance is shared by over 95% of electorates in Anambra.

Another reason why Governor Soludo would obtain well over 85% of cast votes is because of the nature of the opposition in Anambra. Not only that Governor Soludo stands taller and above all the candidates in the forthcoming election, the opposition in Anambra is dysfunctional, unserious and insincere.

As of today, nobody knows who will end up being the eventual candidate of the Labour Party in Anambra. Little wonder that the purported winners of the factional primaries of the party have gone silent. While one camp – the camp that was given the party’s certificate of return for the primary – was purportedly supported by the party’s embattled national chairman, another faction, which was purportedly backed by Senator Nenadi Usman’s caretaker committee, also conducted its primaries and produced its own gubernatorial candidate. Interestingly, Senator Usman is backed by big wigs and most elected public officers in the party who are determined to oust Mr. Julius Abure, whose name is still on INEC’s website as the party’s chairman. No party can achieve anything with this level of turmoil. A recent decampee from the party, Valentine Ozigbo, even said that most current political office holders in the party are not planning to run their 2027 elections under the party’s ticket. Mr. Ozigbo, in his desperation and confusion, has also started spewing unfounded allegations and lies. He says Governor Soludo is sponsoring Nicholas Ukachukwu.

For the other candidate – Nicholas Ukachukwu – his campaign is dead on arrival. The strategy in his camp to possibly raise funds from progressive governors in the APC to support his bid to become governor is a dead strategy. The progressive governors can see that Governor Soludo is working and doing very well. The President, last Thursday, has attested to Governor Soludo’s sterling performance. Expectedly, Nicholas Ukachukwu’s camp has resorted to telling unfounded lies. Yesterday, one of his supporters who was obviously pained that Governor Soludo was able to build a government house after the state’s 34 years of existence, said on national TV (on TVC) that Soludo merely painted the governor’s house. Even after this supporter was fact-checked by the interviewer he kept spewing lies. This shows the level of insincerity in this camp. Anambra needs sincere leaders.

One is not even sure of Nicholas Ukachukwu’s position as the candidate of the APC in Anambra. Currently, Valentine Ozigbo has taken his petition against him to the court. He calls the primary election that produced Mr. Ukachukwu a charade. He says Nicholas Ukachukwu was not even qualified to contest the fraudulent primaries in the first place. Valentine Ozigbo’s allegations are grave and gives an inkling of the kind of people Nigerians are dealing with.

There is no doubt that the factors that would allow Soludo achieve a landslide victory this November are at play in Anambra. Despite this glaring evidence, Soludo’s team will work very hard and campaign very hard for the next elections.

———– ————————————
Even the fiercest critics of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu cannot deny one of his innate talents: the ability to identify, nurture and groom leaders. This is the kind of quality Nigeria, as a developing nation, needs at this point in its history and in the coming years.

The President has been able to groom governors and leaders in all spheres of life. The recent recruitment of the leadership team in the NNPC Ltd reinforces the President’s knack for selecting quality leaders. NNPC Ltd is the life wire of Nigeria’s economy and with the current appointment of Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the new NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer (NNPC GCEO) and Ahmadu Musa Kida as the Executive Chairman NNPC Ltd shows that the President is very serious about transforming Nigeria’s economy. There is no doubt that these appointed professionals are amongst Nigeria’s finest professionals in the oil and gas industry. They are coming with fresh ideas, new mindsets and exceptional track records.

Nigeria’s biggest investor in the downstream industry, Aliko Dangote, has attested to the quality of these appointments. All those bringing ethnic colorations to these appointments in the oil and gas industry should cut the President some slack and wait to see the transformation that would come very soon.

Actually, what is important is for the oil and gas industry to add the expected value to Nigerians. The average Nigerian does not care who runs the refineries in Nigeria, what they want is to have affordable and guaranteed supply of petrol to go about their normal business.

Nwankwo is the special adviser to Soludo on special projects