The All Progressives Congress and the All Progressives Grand Alliance are at loggerheads over the “progressives working together” mantra associated with the Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo.
The phrase has become a recurring political theme in Anambra State, with Soludo presenting cooperation between APGA and the APC at the federal level as part of a broader progressive agenda.
However, the Deputy National Chairman of the APC (South), Ben Nwoye, has rejected the claim that progressive forces are working together ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Nwoye urged APC supporters not to be deceived by APGA’s “progressives are working together” slogan, describing the claim as a fallacy.
He spoke at an Anambra Central senatorial district stakeholders’ meeting with local government and ward officials at the Uche Ekwunife Centre in Awka at the weekend.
“We urged our supporters not to be deceived by the APGA’s slogan of ‘Progressives are working together’. It is a fallacy, and we reject it because it is aimed at deceiving the President and our supporters,” he said.
Nwoye said the APC would work towards securing victory for its candidates in the 2027 elections, including President Bola Tinubu.
The APC senatorial candidate for Anambra Central, Uche Ekwunife, said she and other party members were committed to securing support for the President and APC candidates in the state.
Ekwunife, who is also the South-East Zonal Director of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, said her interest and that of other APC candidates was to ensure the party performed strongly at the presidential, National Assembly, and state assembly elections.
She urged APC supporters to reject APGA’s “progressives are working together” narrative and support Tinubu and other APC candidates.
“We must not be deceived by the All Progressives Grand Alliance slogan of ‘Progressives are working together in Anambra’. We must vote for Tinubu to enable him to complete the developmental projects he has started in the South-East region,” she said.
Ekwunife urged party members to remain committed and work for the success of the APC in the state.
However, when contacted on Sunday, the APGA Publicity Secretary, Ejimofor Opara, rejected the APC’s position and maintained that the “progressives are working together” position remained valid.
Opara said APGA was not deceiving anyone and pointed to the party’s adoption of Tinubu as its presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
“We can tell them for free that in APGA, we are not deceptive. We are not people who don’t say or who don’t mean what they say. We say what we mean, and we mean what we say. That we have adopted President Bola Tinubu is enough proof, and let them wait to see the outcome,” he said.
He argued that APGA’s support for Tinubu had contributed to the President’s political standing in Anambra and the South-East.
Opara said the party remained committed to working with the President while retaining its identity and political interests in the state.
“So, for us, progressives will work together. The focus and the goal are to ensure that President Bola Tinubu is returned as the President of Nigeria come January 16, 2027,” he said.
