Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State was on Sunday, September 9, announced as the winner of the state governorship election held on November 8. The result of that election indicated a landslide victory for the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. In this report, TAIWO ADISA Politics Editor-General analyzes the factors that stand out in the governor’s victory this time.
Before the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) opened polling stations for voters to discharge their civic duties in the Anambra gubernatorial election on November 8, the general indication in the political system was that the governor would win a second term with fewer problems and that the status quo would be maintained in terms of the governance structure in the state. That projection was confirmed on Sunday, November 9, when the electoral body announced that Soludo was the winner of the gubernatorial election, this time winning with a notable victory and sweeping all 21 local governments in the state.
According to results released by INEC, Governor Soludo polled 422,664 votes to defeat his closest rival, Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who recorded 99,445. Since the return of democratic rule in 1999, Soludo’s victory marked the first time that a gubernatorial candidate swept the polls in all local governments in the usually politically volatile Anambra State. Political analysts would attribute the feat to several reasons, including the unusually lukewarm campaign by the opposition parties this time, the body language of the ruling APC of Abuja and the commotion in the house of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which was the other party that occasionally surprises in the state.
Available data on the Anambra elections shows that former Governor Petr Obi, the Labor Party (LP) presidential candidate in 2023, was the biggest vote-getter in the state. While his first arrival as governor was marred by legal disputes, with Andy Uba of the PDP first winning in 2003, Obi recorded the highest number of votes in the 2007 elections with a haul of 1,334,356 votes to secure a second term. However, apart from Obi, the elections had been a tug of war between Soludo’s All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), which was also Obi’s platform while he was in Anambra, and largely the PDP. In 1999, Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju of the PDP won with 206,801 votes, defeating APGA candidate Dr. Okey Onyenadum, and in 2003, records say Chris Ngige of the PDP won with 189,118 votes before he was finally ousted by impeached Peter Obi, who was first sworn in on March 17, 2006. on November 3, 2006, and subsequently reinstated on February 9, 2007, before completing the first term. Obi won the most convincing victory in the 2007 elections with 1,334,356 votes. And he completed his term on March 17, 2014. In the 2013 elections, Obi’s successor, Willie Obiano, also of APGA, won with 656,987 votes to defeat Tony Nwankwo of the PDP. Obiano won his second term again in 2017 with 234,071 votes, to defeat the same PDP candidate, Tony Nwankwo. Soludo’s first arrival on the scene in 2012 saw him winning 19 local governments with 442,588 votes, to defeat Valentine Ozigbo of the PDP, while the former Central Bank governor upped the ante in 2025 with a resounding victory that saw him win all 21 local governments.
Unlike the 2021 scenario, this time the elections were less dramatic, at least in the usual Anambra tone. This is a state that usually presents two sets of winners in National Assembly elections, one of whom serves two years and the other the rest. That is also a state known for godfatherism and electoral blackmail. In the 2021 elections, which took place on November 6, 2021 and which Soludo produced, the drama revolved around the dispute over the Ihiala elections. The usual litigation over party primaries was present, with members of the PDP and APC dragging themselves through the courts. APGA and PDP members also accused themselves of holding multiple parallel primaries, leading to litigation, but INEC eventually recognized APGA’s Soludo and Ozigbo as the PDP candidate after court orders.
Although the elections were considered to be generally peaceful, drama erupted in Ihiala where the elections did not take place, forcing a repeat election, making the result inconclusive until rescheduled elections were held on 9 November and Soludo was declared the winner, obtaining 112,000 votes, representing 46.5% of the PDP’s Ozigbo, who obtained 54,000 votes, representing the 22.3% of the votes.
The uniqueness of the November 8, 2025 election has been further enhanced by the fact that Soludo is the only Anambra governor to have won all 21 local governments since 1999. Anambra election records indicate that the first governor of the Fourth Republic, Chinwoke Mbadinuju, who came to power in 1999, won 14 of the 21 local governments, and Chris Ngige, who later He was removed from office because Peter Obi won 13 of the 21 local governments in 2003. In 2007, Peter Obi won 18 of the 21 councils, while his successor, Willie Obiano, won 20 of the 21 councils in 2013 and 17 of the 21 in 2017. In 2021, Soludo won 19 of the 21 councils and, to secure his second term, passed the 21 local governments.
Forces at play
Several factors have been attributed to the resounding victory recorded by Governor Soludo. Some political observers would say that the APC opposition had its wings clipped from the day its candidate, Nicholas Ukachukwu, emerged. The APC leadership was said to have been in talks with Soludo to present a candidate whose wings would not be difficult to clip and that the party primaries were organized in such a way as to emerge the preferred candidate. Once Ukachukwu emerged as the party’s candidate, the APC campaign became something of a graveyard. Not much was known about the campaign headquarters, nor about the APC. The usual drama that would involve APC leaders dragging their right and left Babariga to sweep the streets for the final campaign rallies was absent. Many of the South East governors who were to take the campaign podium to proclaim Ukachukwu’s candidacy were said to have remained silent, apart from projecting various excuses that made them stay away from Anambra. Some political actors said that Ukachukwu’s complaint to some party bosses about the lack of funding and activity around his campaign was creating the impression that his election had been handed over to Soludo and was said to have been heard at the highest levels, and the result of the said complaint was greater distance maintained by governors and party actors from his campaign.
Incumbency factor
Soludo was said to have taken advantage of his tenure to turn everything in his favour, and this was said to include his long-standing friendship with President Bola Tinubu. In the midst of the campaign, Soludo was seen on national television introducing Tinubu and wearing an Asoebi with the leader of the main opposition party. It was a bad sign for the APC, while the PDP had already gone into a coma, not only in the state but also in the country. The incumbent governor was also able to mobilize better and was the most visible during the campaign. He was said to have announced a cash reward of N500 million for each of the local governments that voted massively for him.
Zoning factor
Some sources in Anambra State also believed that Soludo being from the southern senatorial district of the state was worth it to him as the zone is considered the legitimate area to occupy the governorship position at the moment. It is also possible that the zonal impetus also brought enormous goodwill in Soludo’s way, and he was able to promote his achievements among the population. Other factors said to have worked in his favor include huge elite backing with what was called a covert alliance with the ruling APC, while Soludo equally openly backed President Tinubu’s aspiration for a second term. The fact that Soludo holds the key to Anambra State, the home state of a possible opponent of the president in the 2027 race, makes the state a strategic location for the APC to hone its manipulation skills. The governor also touted his free education policy, which he said had already placed Anambra on the pedestal of educational achievements in the country, while announcing that his security initiatives were already ensuring peaceful coexistence in the state that was once the den of kidnappers and ritualists.
APGA Domain
Soludo’s victory in the November 8 election has undoubtedly once again expanded APGA’s dominance in Anambra politics. Apart from Mbadinuju’s electoral victory in 1999, the PDP had only barely touched the lever of power in that state. Some analysts would attribute this to the fact that the late Ikemba of Nnewi, Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu, hailed from the state and launched APGA as his party before his demise. While APGA’s dominance in the state so far may be attributed to the late Ojukwu, other factors, including the party’s strong presence at the grassroots and the deft political calculations of the different APGA candidates, have also helped. The fact that the opposition this time was, or weakened, something that has been called federal support for Soludo, is also a factor that cannot be ignored.