POLITICAL Economy

Soludo Urges Leaders to Strengthen Federal Government Engagement

by admin on | 2026-11-02 11:34:44

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Soludo Urges Leaders to Strengthen Federal Government Engagement

By Maryam Yahya 

Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has called on political leaders in the South-East to strengthen engagement with the Federal Government, describing political participation at the national level as critical to advancing the region’s development interests and securing its place in Nigeria’s political future.

Soludo made the call during the inauguration of a 4,600-member Presidential Campaign Council in Awka, bringing together members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Accord Party in support of President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in the 2027 general election.

The governor, who is Anambra State Coordinator of the Presidential Campaign Council, described the coalition as a significant political realignment, urging the South-East to move beyond protest-driven politics and embrace strategic partnerships capable of strengthening its influence in national governance.

He recalled the contributions of prominent Igbo political leaders, including Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Dr Alex Ekwueme and Dr Chuba Okadigbo, to national politics, stressing that the region must sustain their legacy of active participation in national decision-making.

According to him, the South-East's development aspirations, including railway expansion, gas infrastructure, road networks and erosion control, require sustained collaboration with the Federal Government, as individual states cannot independently finance such large-scale projects.

Soludo cited the approximately 5,000 votes President Tinubu received in Anambra during the 2023 presidential election, arguing that subsequent federal interventions in the state demonstrated the value of constructive political engagement. He also acknowledged the Federal Government's economic reforms, particularly efforts to address fiscal challenges and improve foreign exchange availability, while noting that more work remained to be done.

The governor urged members of the campaign council to intensify grassroots mobilisation through ward-level and door-to-door engagements, emphasising that electoral victories were determined by effective organisation and support at polling units. He said campaign structures would be streamlined across the state to strengthen coordination and mobilisation.

He clarified that participating political parties would retain their identities and could pursue their respective candidates for other elective positions, while maintaining a common position on Tinubu's re-election. He said his support for the coalition was driven by the long-term political and economic interests of the South-East rather than personal electoral ambitions.

Earlier, the National Chairman of APGA, Chief Sylvester Ezeokenwa, described the coalition as an unprecedented political development in Anambra, commending Soludo for facilitating the alliance and pledging the party's support towards achieving its objective.

Similarly, the Anambra APC Chairman, Senator Emmanuel Anosike, endorsed the political realignment, saying stronger cooperation with the Federal Government would improve the state's prospects of attracting development opportunities. The APC Deputy National Organising Secretary, Barrister Emeka Okafor, who represented the party's National Chairman, also supported the arrangement, describing it as an opportunity to deepen political cooperation and accelerate infrastructure development in the South-East.

The inauguration brings four political parties together behind a common presidential candidate in Anambra, signalling a significant shift in the state's political alignment ahead of the 2027 elections and raising the prospect of a more coordinated South-East engagement in national politics.