Soludo warns that a Labour Party house of assembly would cause chaos in Anambra State

GOVERNOR Charles Soludo of Anambra State has suggested that electing Labour Party members into the state house of assembly could lead to turmoil as it constituted the laying down of political landmines.

On Saturday February 25, Nigerians went to the polls to elect a new president and the main gladiators in the contest were Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ex-Anambra State governor Peter Obi of the Labour Party and former Kano State governor Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP). Nigeria's National Electoral Commission (Inec) has declared Asiwaju Tinubu the winner but the PDP and Labour Party are disputing the result.

During the presidential elections, the Labour Party swept the vote in Anambra State, riding on the coat tails of Governor Obi. In 2006, Peter Obi was elected as Anambra State governor on the platform of the  All Progressives Grand Alliance (Apga) and was then returned for s second term in 2010.

Since then, Governor Obi has left Apga for the PDP, from where he joined the Labour Party last year, enabling him to stand as their presidential candidate. Incumbent governor Soludo, was, however, elected on the Apga platform and during the last election, his party was trumped by the Labour Party as the Obi bandwagon swept through Anambra State.

With Anambra State House if Assembly elections taking place next Saturday on March 18, Governor Soludo has warned that imposing a Labour Party legislature on him is a recipe for chaos.  On Friday, Governor Obi met with the Labour Party house of assembly candidates and called on them to go all out and win on 18 March.

He said they should win and support the Apga government of Governor Soludo to deliver dividends of democracy to the people. Governor Obi used the opportunity to thank the people of Anambra for their support for the Labour Party, enabling it to win two senatorial and five House of Representatives seats in the 25 February elections.

Governor Obi said: “Their job as a legislator is to work with the governor and ensure he provides the dividends of democracy to our people. Help him to make good laws on education, health and other sectors.

“Soludo remains our governor and our job is to support and pray for him. I have told our candidates to go about their campaigns in a peaceful, quiet and organised manner.”

He said he had no issues with Governor Soludo as they remained brothers and best of friends but with different political views. However, Governor Soludo described the call for the Anambra electorate to vote for the Labour Party as deceptive and a strategy of laying landmines for him.

Governor Soludo urged Anambra people to vote for the Apga candidates for the 30 seats in the Anambra State House of Assembly. He urged the Anambra people not to relent in retaining Apga lawmakers in the state assembly and avoid stalling the economic and security gains achieved by his administration so far.

Christian Aburime, Governor Soludo's press secretary, said: “That call is inappropriate and meant to deceive the Anambra people. Obi cannot be talking about development in Anambra and also be talking about asking Anambra people to elect lawmakers from an opposition party to work with Soludo.

“He worked with a legislature that was dominated by lawmakers from the PDP and he knows that it was not easy for him. He even suffered impeachment because of that, so Anambra people should go all out on March 18 and vote for Apga if they want the developmental strides of Mr Governor to continue.”

Mr Aburime said instead of canvassing votes for the Labour Party, Mr Obi should throw his weight behind the ruling Apga as a payback for the massive support the people of Anambra gave him on February 25.  He added that the Anambra people supported Mr Obi, and Governor Soludo refused to interfere as the people trooped out to vote for the Labour Party.