Actually Soludo has no challenger in the November 2025 Anambra elections

The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has cleared Governor Chukwuma Soludo for the November gubernatorial elections in Anambra and the primaries for the election will be held today in the newly revamped Ekwueme Square in Awka. Despite the fact that there is a general consensus in Anambra that Governor Soludo has performed very well with some arguing that he does not need to campaign to get a second term in office, some politicians are still bent on putting up a show in the name of opposition politics. They know they do not stand a chance. The motivation of the very few supporters of these opposition politicians is the ‘economy of political campaigns’. This we intend to x-ray in this piece.

Last Wednesday, sixty support groups, with a verified membership of over 120,000 supporters, endorsed Governor Soludo’s second term bid. These support groups, under the umbrella of All Soludo Support Groups (ASSG), say Governor Soludo’s performance puts him in a class of his own. Actually, this endorsement is something to take note of because of its significance. Members of these support groups, without any external support, contributed their resources to organize themselves. They put their money where their mouth is.

Apart from all these massive supports being enjoyed by Governor Soludo and APGA, this is the first time in recent history that the APGA will be going into a major gubernatorial election without any political disputes, opposing court judgments or whatsoever. The party has never been united like this. This cannot be said of other opposition parties. Yesterday, the chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, was ousted by the supreme court and one of the aspirants of the APC, Paul Chukwuma, who was cleared to contest the gubernatorial election in Anambra a few days ago, resigned from the party.

Coincidentally, other opposition political parties in the state will also be holding their primaries today. They know their candidates do not stand any chance of winning any local government council in Anambra.

But there are many economic reasons some of these opposition parties are doing what they are doing today.

Let us take the Labour Party for example. The just ousted national chairman of the Party, Julius Abure, had accused elected members of the party of not meeting financial obligations to the party since they were elected. Actually, political parties are supposed to survive with the donations from members. So, in the case of the Labour Party, revenue from the sale of nominations forms to aspirants – who stand no chances – has become a source of revenue for the party. This is one reason the leadership of the Labour Party – which is uncertain today judging from recent supreme court rulings – is making some noise in the forth coming Anambra election.

Another reason why some very few people nudge these opposition politicians, even when they know they stand no chance, is because of the resources they are going to dissipate during this election season. There will be campaign posters, souvenirs and payments to party members or agents. This creates a very lucrative economy for people who actually might not believe in their chances of success.

There is another economy that some of the opposition elements might rely on and this has to do with donations. Some members of the opposition might convince unsuspecting businessmen and even politicians outside Anambra to donate huge sums into their campaigns. Some of these donations might end up been diverted into private pockets because people know these opposition candidates are not going to make any significant outing in the forthcoming elections.

Finally, there is the politics of compensation. There are reports of failed gubernatorial candidates who have been rewarded with political posts in governments. This kind of compensation is the real motivation for aspirants who know they do not stand a chance. They probably plan to use their efforts in their failed bid as a bargaining chip for political appointments. Having the title, ‘former gubernatorial candidate’, is now a coveted title.

In all these, one important lesson should not be missed: when political leaders give citizens the dividend of democracy, the people genuinely reward them in elections. The overwhelming support being received by Governor Soludo shows that this hypothesis is true.

Nwankwo is the special adviser to Soludo on special projects