By Ikeugonna Eleke
The Governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the forthcoming Governorship Election in Anambra State, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, was on Saturday, May 31, welcomed back to Anambra after a visit to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Abuja.
He used the opportunity to debunk rumours that the party and President Tinubu had entered an alliance to support Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State.
Ukachukwu who was hosted to a grand reception at Chinua Achebe Airport, Umueri, Anambra State, after his recent visit to President Tinubu, said there was no such alliance between Tinubu and the party with All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and her candidate, Soludo.
The candidate also used the opportunity of the reception to unveil his running mate for the election, Senator Mrs Uche Ekwunife, while also presenting her to the party’s stakeholders.
He said: ‘APC is Tinubu and
Tinubu is APC; so they (APGA/Soludo) should not lie to you that they are in alliance with us. We are the APC, it is our party, we will win and we are not partnering with anybody.
‘If APC is inexistent in Anambra State, and not powerful as they claim, if they are not afraid of APC, why are they using our name to campaign? I want to tell you all that it is over for APGA in Anambra State and we will make it happen.
‘We met with the President in Abuja, and he said to us, ”Go and get me Anambra State and connect Anambra to the centre”. That is a mandate, and I want to give you the same mandate to go and gather your people for us to connect Anambra to the centre.
‘I and Ekwunife are capable of the task but we need your support to do it. Take this message to the grassroots, no one should deceive you any longer.
‘I’m here to introduce to you today the very qualified Deputy Governorship Candidate, my running mate. She is a political juggernaut, someone who we all know, she is Senator Uche
Ekwunife.’
Earlier, the Chairman of the APC in Anambra State, Mr Basil Ejidike, said with the meeting of the candidate with President Tinubu, records had now been set straight. He said the meeting put a lie to all the rumours that President Tinubu had entered an alliance with Soludo for re-election.
He said: ‘Today is a great day. The man we are here with is coming straight from the Presidential Villa. Weeks ago, they were making jest of us about an alliance, but now it is clear there is no alliance between APGA and President Tinubu. We are already marching to the Government House.
‘The national officers, the Presidency, have all confirmed that Ukachukwu is our Governorship Candidate, so we are stronger now. Ukachukwu is the man we will go to war with as our candidate.’
The candidate revealed that soon, he would begin a tour of all the local government areas of the state, assuring that victory was assured.
