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By Lizzy Chirkpi
Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia North) has hinted that the Anambra State Governor, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, may soon join the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking with journalists at the National Assembly Complex on Tuesday, the former Abia governor described Soludo as a “true progressive” whose political ideology aligns with that of President Bola Tinubu and the Senate leadership.
“I think after all the court cases, he is a progressive like myself, President Tinubu, and the Senate President,” Kalu said. “Soludo is a progressive. He will come to APC. In fact, it is confirmed that he will join APC. He has no other alternative.”
Kalu stressed that the APC does not compel anyone to join its fold, reacting to speculations that other opposition figures including Abia State Governor, Alex Otti may be considering crossing over to the ruling party.
“Neither I nor other senators, the Senate President, or President Tinubu have ever forced anybody to join our party,” he stated.
Governor Soludo, who recently secured a second term after defeating APC’s Nicholas Ukachukwu by a wide margin, has yet to react to Kalu’s remarks.
Kalu’s statement comes amid a fresh wave of defections by top opposition governors and political leaders into the APC in recent months.
In October, Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah, elected under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) formally joined the ruling APC, pledging to align his administration with the development vision of President Tinubu. Similarly, Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno recently decamped from the PDP to the APC after a series of consultative meetings with the party’s national leadership.
These defections reflect the APC’s renewed strategy to consolidate power across the South-East and South-South zones ahead of the next general elections.
If Soludo eventually joins the ruling party, it would further strengthen the APC’s foothold in the South-East and mark another major political realignment within Nigeria’s evolving multiparty landscape.