Anambra Government Urges APGA Supporters to Reject Peter Obi in 2027

The Anambra State Government has called on supporters of the All Progressives Grand Alliance to resist backing former state governor Peter Obi in the 2027 presidential election, accusing him of abandoning the party that provided the platform for his rise in state politics. The appeal was made in a statement posted on Monday through the official X account of the New Media office attached to Governor Chukwuma Soludo. The statement, titled “A Betrayal Alert for Ndi APGA,” portrayed Obi's 2027 presidential bid under the Nigeria Democratic Congress as a threat to APGA's political standing in Anambra. The state government alleged that Obi had worked against APGA since leaving the party in 2014 and urged party supporters to remain loyal to the platform. It also accused Obi of backing opposition forces against APGA while President Bola Tinubu supported the party, describing the former governor's political relationship with APGA as one that had broken down. The statement urged APGA members to “defend” the party and resist the NDC in the 2027 elections. Obi's history with APGA Obi governed Anambra State on the APGA platform from 2006 to 2014, although his first tenure was interrupted by his impeachment in 2006 before he was reinstated. He left APGA for the Peoples Democratic Party in 2014 and later became the PDP's vice-presidential candidate in the 2019 presidential election alongside Atiku Abubakar. Obi subsequently left the PDP in 2022 and joined the Labour Party, under which he contested the 2023 presidential election. Following another political realignment, Obi moved to the African Democratic Congress and later became the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress for the 2027 election. The Anambra government's latest statement therefore comes against the background of a political relationship that has changed significantly since Obi left APGA. APGA's relationship with Tinubu The state government's position also reflects Governor Soludo's increasingly open support for President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Soludo has previously said he supports Tinubu's re-election, citing their long-standing personal relationship as well as what he described as the President's economic and structural reforms. APGA has also publicly backed Tinubu's re-election while maintaining that the party's support for the President does not amount to an endorsement of APC candidates contesting legislative positions in Anambra. In April, APGA's Media Warriors Forum clarified that the party's support was specifically for Tinubu's presidential bid, while APGA would continue to field its own candidates for Senate, House of Representatives and state Assembly seats. The distinction is significant because APGA remains a separate political party from the APC, even as the state government and party leadership have expressed support for Tinubu's return to office. Renewed disagreement between Obi and Soludo The latest political exchange comes amid a separate disagreement between Obi and the Anambra government over financial obligations associated with projects implemented during his tenure as governor. The state government has alleged that previous administrations left financial liabilities that the current administration has had to address. One of the figures at the centre of the dispute is an alleged $123.77m in external obligations associated with projects and programmes linked to previous administrations. Obi has rejected the government's characterisation of the figure as debt personally incurred by him. The former governor argued that some of the projects involved World Bank and International Fund for Agricultural Development programmes negotiated through the Federal Government and accessed by participating states through subsidiary arrangements. Obi also said the government had combined different financial categories to arrive at the $123.77m figure and maintained that describing the entire amount as loans left by him was inaccurate. The two sides have therefore presented competing accounts of the state's financial obligations, and the claims remain part of an ongoing political dispute rather than an independently established finding in the current campaign exchange. Government's appeal is not a measure of voter preference Although the Anambra government has called on APGA supporters to reject Obi, the statement itself does not establish how voters in the state intend to vote in 2027. The appeal is a political position from the state government and should be distinguished from voter polling, election results or an independently measured assessment of public opinion. Obi retains a significant political history in Anambra as a former governor who served on the APGA platform before moving through the PDP and Labour Party and subsequently joining the NDC. The 2027 presidential contest is still ahead, meaning the eventual voting pattern in Anambra will depend on campaign developments, party mobilisation, candidates and voter decisions at the election. For now, the latest statement shows that the political divide between Obi and the current APGA-led administration in Anambra has become increasingly explicit as the 2027 election approaches. The state government has made clear that it wants APGA supporters to remain aligned with the party and reject Obi's NDC candidacy, while Obi has yet to publicly respond to the latest accusation that he has worked to undermine the party. The exchange adds another layer to the broader political contest surrounding Anambra, where APGA is seeking to maintain its position in the state while Obi prepares for another presidential campaign on a different political platform.