David-Chyddy Eleke reports that even though the recent visit of the wife of the President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, to Anambra State was a working visit, it more or less sealed an agreement for the All Progressives Congress and All Progressives Grand Alliance to work together in the 2027 general elections.
In Anambra, the popular mantra among political actors is the coinage; progressives are working together. It is a political mantra coined by the governor of Anambra State, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, during the run up to the November 8, 2025 governorship election in the state, where he was himself standing for re-election for a second term.
What this means is an agreement between the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the All Progressives Congress (APC); who see themselves as progressive parties agreeing to work together for a common good.
At first it was thought to be an opportunistic coinage meant to warm his way into the heart of the president, to be able to gain re-election, especially as the president’s party also had a candidate in the election, but this grew deeper than just the re-election of Soludo, but an attempt to foster a marriage between the two political parties.
Before the election last year, Soludo made a surprise visit to the president in Aso Villa wearing a fez cap with the bold inscription: Progressives are working together.
Also, during a visit of President Bola Tinubu to Anambra to inaugurate projects, Soludo boldly echoed it again, pledging his support for Tinubu’s re-election. In what looked like a reciprocation, during his remarks, the president concurred to this, affirming that the governor has been his long time friend, and that he would continue to work with him.
The Anambra governorship election came and passed, and Soludo was overwhelmingly re-elected, despite protest by members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, who claimed the governor was deceiving the president with fake support and he pledges his support in Abuja and returns home to proclaim that APC was dead in the state.
Now, Soludo has gained re-election, and Tinubu will next year go to poll to seek re-election. Many would have thought the political mantra of progressives working together would have died after its originator gained a second term, but the coinage seems to be gaining stronger attention and even signalling that the progressives from the APGA flank were not kidding when they proclaimed their readiness to work with APC to deliver Tinubu in Anambra in the next election.
Last Thursday, the wife of the president, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, made a grand entry into Anambra. Though she had gone to other zones too to launch the National Community Food Bank Project, her visit to Anambra was a grand event where the state government spared no cost to ensure that she was given a great reception.
Both Soludo and wife ensured that the event was grand and also accompanied the First Lady through her routes and also saw her back to the airport as she returned back to Abuja.
The event presented itself as a beautiful opportunity for Soludo to reiterate his support and those of Anambra and her people for the president in the coming election. Soludo who spoke at the event did not mince words. He said: “You (Senator Oluremi Tinubu) are a loving wife and a soul that cares for humanity. As a pastor you are living out the full meaning of the scriptures. You have used your platform to truly live out the true essence of life.
“In Anambra, ‘progressives are working together’ is not just a slogan but a statement of truth. APGA is the first progressive party, but before the forming of APC, there is an APGA DNA in it. This is a partnership that works and we in Anambra are partnering with the federal government. At the federal level our legislators are working together with APC legislators to achieve the agenda of the federal government and here in Anambra we are working to cascade such policies down to the grassroots.”
Those words were very deliberately crafted by the governor to win the support of the First Lady and also build confidence on the coming election. Even though President Bola Tinubu’s strongest opposition, Mr Peter Obi hails from Anambra State, there is no doubt that Soludo is hellbent on working for Tinubu, including galvanizing the support of the people of the state to the APC candidate in the presidential race.
In what looked like a reciprocation of the promise of the governor, Mrs Tinubu stated that she would campaign strongly for her husband in the 2027 presidential election when the time comes. She stated that her visit was a working visit and not for campaign, but promised she would be back for campaigns proper, while acknowledging the support the governor and his wife have given to her husband. She said: “Anambra holds a special place in my heart.
“I will be back for campaign proper, and we will go round the entire country. Today is not for campaign that is why we are wearing the national fabric, when it’s time for campaign, we will be back here.
We thank the governor and his wife for all their support and the support they are showing to the president. Igbo are very nice people and when I was a girl, my friends in secondary school were Igbo girls. Some people said I looked like Igbo and they spoke Igbo to me.”
The partnership was capped with the chieftaincy title of Ugo Eze on the wife of the president, a traditional title which meant the pride of the king, which was bestowed on her by all the entire traditional rulers in Anambra State, represented by the chairman of State Traditional Rulers Council, Igwe Chidubem Iweka, who decorated the first lady.
Also, the influence of the wife of the governor of Anambra State in solidifying this partnership of the Progressives is not in doubt. Mrs Tinubu in her address strongly expressed her happiness with the wife of the governor, Dr Nonye Soludo, who has been relentless in ensuring empowerment of women. She stated that she had been so challenged with the level of massive empowerment the wife of Anambra State has made, and feels she should contribute to it. For all the 500 women empowered during the event, Mrs Tinubu said: “Today, I want to support the governor and his wife by adding N100,000 each to all the 500 beneficiaries to be empowered by the wife of the Anambra State Governor, and that comes up to half a billion.”
As 2027 election approaches, it is left to be seen how the partnership can translate to votes for the candidate of the APC, President Bola Tinubu, bearing in mind that Mr Peter Obi, the candidate of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), hails from Anambra and has a large following in the state.