By Ade Oyeyemi
The political relationship between the All Progressives Congress and the All Progressives Grand Alliance in Anambra State has come under renewed strain as both parties traded positions over the claim that they are working together ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The disagreement centres on the “progressives are working together” mantra associated with Governor Chukwuma Soludo, which has been used to describe cooperation between APGA, the ruling party in the state, and the APC-led Federal Government.
However, the APC Deputy National Chairman, South, Ben Nwoye, dismissed the claim, urging party supporters not to be misled by what he described as the APGA slogan.
Nwoye spoke during an APC stakeholders’ meeting for the Anambra Central Senatorial District held at the Uche Ekwunife Centre in Awka at the weekend.
He said the APC remained focused on securing victory for its candidates at the presidential, National Assembly and state assembly elections in 2027.
Nwoye said, “We urged our supporters not to be deceived by the APGA’s slogan of ‘Progressives are working together’. It is a fallacy, and we reject it because it is aimed at deceiving the President and our supporters.”
Also speaking, the APC senatorial candidate for Anambra Central, Uche Ekwunife, called on party members to reject the narrative and work towards the success of the APC and President Bola Tinubu in the state.
Ekwunife, who is also the South-East Zonal Director of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, said her priority and that of other party candidates was to ensure strong support for the party across the different levels of the 2027 elections.
She urged APC supporters to back Tinubu, arguing that his continued support would enable the Federal Government to complete ongoing development projects in the South-East.
But the APGA rejected the APC’s position, insisting that the “progressives are working together” position remained valid.
The party’s Publicity Secretary, Ejimofor Opara, said APGA had no intention of misleading anyone and pointed to the party’s decision to adopt Tinubu as its presidential candidate for the 2027 election as evidence of its cooperation with the President.
Opara said APGA’s position was straightforward and that the party could support the President at the national level while retaining its identity and political interests in Anambra.
He said, “We can tell them for free that in APGA, we are not deceptive. We are not people who don’t say or who don’t mean what they say. We say what we mean, and we mean what we say.”
According to him, APGA’s adoption of Tinubu demonstrates that the party is prepared to work with the President ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
“That we have adopted President Bola Tinubu is enough proof, and let them wait to see the outcome,” Opara added.
He maintained that APGA’s relationship with the President should not be interpreted as an abandonment of the party’s political identity in Anambra.
“So, for us, progressives will work together. The focus and the goal is to ensure that President Bola Tinubu is returned as the President of Nigeria come January 16, 2027,” he said.
The latest disagreement adds to the differing positions that have emerged in Anambra over the nature of the relationship between APGA and the APC ahead of the 2027 elections.
