What Ifeanyi Ubah Told Me About My Gubernatorial Ambition Before He Died – Soludo

The Governor of Anambra State, Charles Soludo has recounted how the late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah showed signs of aligning with him politically before his death.

He revealed that Ubah had privately acknowledged the difficulty of defeating him (Soludo) in the upcoming November 8 governorship election.

Soludo disclosed this on Tuesday while receiving scores of defectors from Ubah’s political camp.

Until his death in July 2024, Ubah, who represented Anambra South in the Senate, was reportedly planning to contest the governorship under the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Welcoming the defectors into the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Soludo said both he and Ubah shared a genuine concern for the welfare of Anambra State.

The governor revealed that when he met Ubah at a function, the deceased politician had disclosed that he was willing to support his gubernatorial bid.

He said, “We are welcoming you with open arms, and I want to tell you that in APGA, we are all equal as far as membership is concerned, not minding how many years you have been in the party.

“My journey with Ifeanyi Ubah is personal and a very long one. Our relationship dates back to when I was the governor of CBN. He came into APGA after contesting for governor on the platform of the Labour Party in 2013.

“In 2019, he contested for the APGA ticket for governor, but he was disqualified. I want to apologise to him posthumously that he would have won the primary of APGA in a landslide, but he was unjustly disqualified.

“I suffered the same fate in 2013. APGA came to me in 2012 to ask me to run for governor on their platform, and I told them I would think about it.

“In 2013, I went to them and told them I was now ready for the contest, but they disqualified me. A former CBN governor and a governorship candidate of PDP in 2010 was disqualified all of a sudden.

“But I think it happened for good. Today, I’m a governor of the same party and the leader of the same political party that disqualified me

“Same way, in 2019, Ubah was poised for the guber contest to pave the way for themselves, and he left for YPP. I know many of you here left with him and went to YPP because of that incident.

“He used the YPP and won the Senate landslide and became a senator. We used to throw banter about him coming back to APGA, and he would always say it is something that must be well-arranged.

“If Ubah were alive, perhaps he would have been the one to organise a massive rally for me, as you people are doing today.

“Let me tell you a story: Before Ifeanyi Ubah’s death, we met at a function here in this hall, and he sat by me. I told him jokingly I had seen his plans to contest for governor, but we would humiliate him.

“He laughed and told me he had spoken to the leader of his party (APC), and he knows it will be difficult for him to remove me. He said he would tell Sir Emeka Offor to convene a meeting between me and him; let’s see how he can work for me.

“Emeka Offor confirmed to me that Ubah told him the same thing, but it is unfortunate that before we could meet, he died. That is why I said perhaps he would have worked for me in the election if he were alive.

“We will ensure we immortalise him, even if it is by naming a street after him. But we will do better to find a monument to name after him.”