The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party during the 2021 Anambra State governorship election, Mr Valentine Ozigbo, has vowed to unseat the Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, in the governorship election in the state in 2025.
Ozigbo, now a Labour Party aspirant for the Anambra State governorship election, said this when he and the member of the House of Representatives representing Ogbaru Federal Constituency, Afam Ogene and other party leaders received over 300 defectors from the All Progressive Grand Alliance into the Labour Party, on Sunday.
The defectors, mainly APGA members in the Ogbaru Local Government Area, were led into the Labour Party by the APGA aspirant for Ogbaru 1 Constituency of Anambra State House of Assembly during the 2023 general elections, Pius Igwilo.
They were also received by the Chairman of the Labour Party in the Ogbaru LGA and several other stalwarts of the LP in the local government.
Among the defectors were former local government chairmen, ward chairmen, women leaders and critical stakeholders in Ogbaru Local Government Area.
Ozigbo, while receiving the defectors at the Holiday Resort field, Onitsha, on Saturday, expressed optimism that the rate at which members of other political parties in the state were defecting to the LP would guarantee the party’s successes in the future elections at local, state and national levels.
He charged the new entrants to become “fishers of men,” by ensuring that they convinced members of other political parties in their various wards to join the Labour Party, which is the “moving train.”
He said, “I am happy to witness what is going on today. You have made a fantastic decision that will help to ensure that LP produces the next Anambra State governor. I have asked Ndi Anambra and the verdict is that the governor (Soludo) is not doing well. So, we are using this point to say that he must vacate the Government House in 2025.
“Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s time is up. He cannot come back for a second term because he has disappointed Ndi Anambra. It is now left for the Labour Party to take over.
“He has failed in his responsibilities to live up to the expectations and I think Anambra people will dispense with him and bring in the Labour Party in 2025 with me as the chief shepherd to harness the potential of the state.”
Addressing the defectors, Ogene, who is also the Chairman, Committee on Renewable Energy in the House of Representatives, said they had no other option but to join the Labour Party, since Soludo’s APGA had disappointed Anambra people with his policies, including his failure to conduct local government election as he promised during his campaign period.
Ogene said, “It is not about constructing roads alone. Even an individual can construct roads but the nitty-gritty of governance lies in the ability of a governor to settle disputes, maintain adequate security and manage the affairs of the state effectively.
“There is no disunity in the LP whether you are from the North, West, East or South, the LP is open at all times. You have come to strengthen the party and together, we will work to take over Anambra in 2025.”
Also speaking, Igwilo said they left APGA to stop Soludo from being re-elected for a second term in office.
Igwilo, said, “I was formerly in APGA, but currently in the Labour Party. I led the defectors into the LP. We decided to leave APGA to join the LP because as you can see, the LP is the party for the people and most of the elected members are at the center too.
“Our principal, Mr Peter Obi, has shown good character and example in the LP and we are here to support him in his pursuit of a country that is working for all of us. We left APGA because the slogan, ‘APGA bu nke ayi’ has become a mere statement and the promises they gave us in Anambra last time are not being fulfilled. That is why the people are disillusioned. The state governor is doing his best, but his best is not enough. He has failed in his promises; he did not even do one.”