The 2025 Gubernatorial Election in Anambra State has come and gone and life is about to continue as before. The election was won by the incumbent Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, who swept all the local government areas in the state. It is an acknowledgement of the trust the people of the state have in him to continue as he has been doing.
A main feature of the post-election activities is the decision by many of the contestants to let the outcome be and not go to court to challenge it. Even though one or two candidates said they were mulling whether to challenge it or not, it is certain that they will eventually not do so. That will be good for our state.
This is not however saying that aggrieved parties should not challenge the outcome of elections in court, but such must be where clear cases of breaches are established, rather than doing so just to heat up the polity. On this, we are pleased that most of the contestants are waving the olive branch, just as the Governor has extended a hand of fellowship to them. It is the time for the state to move on.
Having however secured the mandate of the people to preside over their affairs for the next four years, the onus lies on Governor Soludo not to betray that trust, especially as he enters the second half of his stewardship when he will no more be asking for votes from anyone.
In other words, he is on the last lap of his stewardship where he can be tempted to abandon the trajectory he has set for himself and veer towards another direction. We have seen this happen in some states. But we trust that our Governor is a man of integrity who will not change the course of the ship of state.
We expect Gov Soludo to really go to work and outdo, not just his predecessors, but himself, based on his first term achievements. There is still a lot to do in the state and the people of the state cannot wait to see the bringing to fruition, his promised Dubai-Taiwan. We expect to start seeing deliberate policies and actions geared towards making that to happen.
Above all, we feel that the state can attain her full potentials under Soludo if there is peace and harmony. In his acceptance speech after the declaration of results that favoured him, Soludo had promised to carry everyone along, describing the pockets of frictions with his opponents during the campaigns as mere banter that would not stop them from embracing and joking anywhere they met. We are sure that many people welcomed this assurance happily.
However, his repeated utterances against former Governor Peter Obi leave much to be desired and is threatening to blight his promise of carrying everyone along. He and Obi are illustrious sons of the state who should be working in concert to ensure the good of the state. But Soludo’s utterances are threatening to sever the cord of friendship that binds him with Obi.
It is known that after every attack, those loyal to Obi, known as Obidients, who cut across all parts of the country, always rally to defend Obi and this usually causes unnecessary tension between both camps and in the state.
Obi has served the state and left 13 years ago. It is now Soludo’s turn to serve. And the fact that Soludo is not the immediate successor to Obi makes his attacks on Obi all the more bizarre. We call on Soludo to therefore face his business of governance squarely and let sleeping dogs lie.
He did not take over directly from Obi, neither did Obi directly contest election with him the last time. Both men are treading different paths politically and this makes the altercations between them all the more strange. It is also bothering well-meaning citizens of the state.
Let peace reign, and, as Obi told Soludo in response to Soludo’s attack, this is a time for Soludo to be magnanimous in victory, rather than use it to fight imaginary enemies. It is really a worrisome development. Let reason prevail and once more, let peace reign!
