The All Progressives Grand Alliance has accused the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in the November 8, 2025, Anambra governorship election, Chief Nicholas Ukachukwu, of manipulating the APC primary election that threw him up as the winner.
Recall that Ukachukwu emerged the candidate of the APC during its primary election held at the Dora Akunyili Women Development Centre, Awka, on April 5, scoring 1,455 votes to defeat his closest rival, Valentine Ozigbo, who scored 67 votes, Johnbosco Onunkwo scored 26 votes, and Edozie Madu scored eight votes, while invalid votes were 26.
Shortly before the APC primary election, some prominent aspirants, including Sir Paul Chukwuma, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo and Chief Chukwuma Umeoji, withdrew from the race, citing “massive irregularities” and “controversial decisions.”
The results, as announced by the Chairman of the APC Electoral Committee and Governor of Cross River State, Senator Bassey Otu, after the primary, showed an overwhelming victory for Ukachukwu.
However, APGA, in a press statement released by its National Coordinator, APGA Media Warriors Forum, Chinedu Obigwe, on Wednesday, insisted that Ukachukwu hijacked the APC ticket by manipulating the APC primary “judging by the allegations” from those that contested against him.
Obigwe, therefore, urged Ndi Anambra not to listen to his “sugar-coated” mouth during the electioneering campaigns.
The statement read, “Nicholas Ukachukwu parades himself as an ‘evangelist’, but his antecedents portrayed him as a ‘fake evangelist’ and as a politician. The people should not listen to him. When you consider how he emerged as an APC governorship candidate and the allegations from those who contested the APC party ticket with him, you will agree with our opinion that he is a ‘fake Evangelist’.
Someone like Obiora Okonkwo withdrew from the primary on the grounds that his ambition is not worth spilling the blood of his supporters, and that is an indirect way of telling the public that the winner of the primary is ready to kill anybody who stands in his way.
“Outside of what Obiora Okonkwo said, APC party members are still finding it difficult to accept the charade that produced Nicholas Ukachukwu as their party candidate for the November 8th governorship election.
“To the extent that when we write against him, some of them who are our friends will give us thumbs up and encourage us to continue saying the undiluted truth. We are also hearing stories of how houses and money in millions of dollars were shared with the leadership of APC for Nicholas Ukachukwu to hijack their party ticket. If you say it is a rumour, know that there is an atom of truth in every rumour.”
According to APGA, a true evangelist or pastor cannot be associated with such despicable stories and actions.
“So, Ukachukwu moving from one Church to another does not make him an Evangelist and a genuine Christian.
“His game plan that made him initiate going for Thanksgiving from one Church to another in Anambra is to give the APC national leadership and the Federal Government the false impression that the APC exists in Anambra and get their support to rig the November 8 governorship election.
“Nicholas Ukachukwu knows very well that voting for APC in Anambra can be likened to a camel passing through the eye of a needle and he came up with the plan of moving round the Church for thanksgiving to create a false acceptance of APC in Anambra impression,” the statement added.
He further urged the people to ignore the APC candidate and re-elect the APGA candidate and the current governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, saying that the governor has a genuine and good motive for the development of Anambra State.
“Whatever you see Soludo doing, he does it genuinely and not with ulterior motives, like the APC candidate is currently doing with his visitation to churches in Anambra.
“Soludo has proved beyond every reasonable doubt that he is trustworthy and reliable by delivering on his 2021 campaign promises to the Anambra people.
The good people of our State will overlook the APC candidate on November 8 to vote massively for the re-election of Governor Soludo for a well-deserved second term,” he added.
However, when contacted about the development, the spokesman for Ukachukwu, Arinzechukwu Arinze, dismissed all the claims by APGA, saying, “We will not dignify their ‘lies’ with our response. Of course, Ndi Anambra knows that APGA is like a drowning man who will cling to anything, even a straw, to survive.
“They are struggling to demarket us, but the more they try, the more our party becomes popular. The primary conducted by APC on April 5, was free, fair and transparent and the winner emerged through a highly credible process, all their claims are just ’tissue of lies.’”
