The South East Revival Group (SERG) has said that Anambra State Governor, Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo, has “proven that he has lost understanding of priorities,” urging him “to first take Anambra State to the Dubai status he has been promising the people during all his electioneering campaigns since he left office as the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).”
SERG was reacting to comments credited to Governor Soludo, who attacked Peter Obi, saying that the Labour Party presidential candidate cannot win in 2023.
In a statement issued by its president and national coordinator, Chief Willy Ezugwu, and forwarded to DAILY POST on Tuesday, SERG noted “this is not the first time predictions on Peter Obi’s victory at elections came and failed.”
According to the South East group: “It was common knowledge in Anambra State in the build-up to the 2010 governorship election the popular prediction was that Professor Soludo as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), would defeat Peter Obi of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
“In fact, most prominent Anambra people predicted that Peter Obi won’t win a second tenure even before the governorship primary.
“But on February 7, 2010, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Peter Obi the winner of the 2010 Anambra State gubernatorial election, where he roundly defeated his former schoolmate at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo.
“So, Governor Soludo knows that his predictions against Peter Obi have never come to pass, not even his own election victory prediction in 2010,” stated the group, which advised Governor Soludo to “face his job of governing Anambra State and ensure that he fulfilled his campaign promises.
The group further noted: “So far, Soludo has not been able to solve a single major problem of the Anambra State since he assumed office. As a matter of fact, his administration has turned Anambra into one of the unsafest states in Nigeria, going by recent security realities, including the consistent attacks on Soludo’s hometown.”
While attributing the escalation of violence in the state to his mishandling of security, the group attributed his outburst against Peter Obi to outright jealousy.
The group further believed: “The opposition has hired the Anambra State Governor to do some dirty political jobs from Peter Obi’s home state in their efforts to cause a crack in the solidarity and support the Labour Party presidential candidate is enjoying in the entire South East.”
“Peter Obi is running for the President of Nigeria, not the President of Igbo. So, to measure Peter Obi’s presidential victory from the lens of Igbo votes like Governor Soludo [did] is the most myopic political calculation,” SERG maintained.
The group reminded Governor Soludo of the need for him to face the issues of governance, especially insecurity, as the people will decide his fate in the next governorship election in Anambra State based on his four-year scorecard.
