Anambra: In First Post-Victory Interview, Soludo Reveals How Gov Obiano Pressured Him To Run

The Anambra State governor-elect, Charles Chukwuma Soludo, granted his first post-election interview on Wednesday, during which he spoke about his previous governorship attempts, the reactions of fellow contenders he defeated and what his relationship with the incumbent governor would look like when he eventually takes of the reins of power.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Soludo as the winner of the November 6 election after defeating 17 other candidates who ran for the position under different political parties.

INEC’s returning officer for the election, Prof Florence Obi, had announced that the former central bank governor polled 112,229 votes to defeat the Peoples Democratic Party’s Valentine Ozigbo, who got 53,807 votes, the All Progressives Congress’s Andy Uba, who got 43,285 votes, and the Young Progressive Party’s Ifeanyi Ubah, who polled 21,261 votes, amongst others.

In a live Arise TV interview monitored by THE WHISTLER on Wednesday, Soludo revealed that the incumbent Governor Willie Obiano spoke to him “consistently” for five years that he would like he (Soludo) to succeed him.

The governor-elect stated this while responding to a question on if the people of Anambra should expect a smooth relationship between him and Obiano, as against the usual quarrel that ensues between governors and their predecessors.

Soludo described his relationship with Governor Obiano as “not mechanical”, adding that “It is a relationship that is founded on deep mutual respect for one another.”

He described his journey to victory as “a transition that has lasted for five years” adding “It’s not quite easy for transitions to last that long, from when he himself even had the view that I should succeed him. And we have bonded together, we’ve worked together and we have carried on and for these whole five years, I think new and strong relationships have been built. And I don’t expect anything less going forward.”

Asked to what extent Governor Obiano would be involved in his transition committee or if the committee would be inclusive, Soludo said: “…there is a structure in place and he (Obiano) is there in place first as a friend and two as the national leader of party and third as the governor of the state. And those capacities, those institutions and structures are in place. He (Obiano) has supported this cause and has very sincerely done so.

“He has spoken to me privately for years now from 2016. He kept telling me the reason he wants me to succeed him and very importantly, all the while that he talked about why he wanted me to succeed him, I was touched by one particular thing. He was concerned about the state itself. He said he looked around the people who are haggling to be governor of the state and he didn’t think in his own evaluation [that they were qualified]. He wanted someone who could take the state from where he would be living it and take the state much higher. And consistently, these were his words and concern.

“In many cases, people who do transitions are looking for their minions to handle the baton. But he said no, that he wasn’t looking for capacity and somebody who he believed the state would continue at the upward trajectory that is has been on since 1999.

“I expect nothing less, he (Obiano) would remain a staunch member in APGA. I haven’t discussed with him what are his next moves in terms of politics and leadership, but I expect him to remain central to what we do in APGA and in governance.”

The governor-elect also talked about the reactions of some of the candidates he defeated at the polls.

“I received some calls and I have also spoken to quite a number of them. Even before the announcement, I had received calls from Akachukwu [Nwankpo], commending us and supporting us and voted for us yesterday.

“I called Val Ozigbo, it rang out and I sent him a text two nights ago and he returned my text. I also called Andy Ubah and sent him a text. Even two days ago, I have already started reaching out to the candidates and I will keep calling literally all of them.

“Like I said, that’s my experience. When I ran before probably as the first candidate of a major political party in Nigeria who immediately after the election, even when the candidate declared winner himself said that the election was a sham, I congratulated him and wished him well and walked away. Because if you want to serve, there should be no sense of desperation about it.

Soludo further said that between 4am on Wednesday when he went to bed and woke up, “I already saw about 280 missed calls. I don’t know who else would have called, I haven’t looked at my phone since I went to bed.”