Anambra: APC Deputy Gov Candidate Faults National Leadership Over Ukachukwu Loss

The Deputy Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Anambra State election, Senator Uche Ekwunife, has blamed the party’s national leadership for failing to give sufficient support to its governorship candidate, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, in the November 8, 2025, poll.

Naijaonpoint reports that Ekwunife spoke on Saturday at a stakeholders meeting in Awka to evaluate the ongoing e‑registration exercise for party members.

The former lawmaker described the commitment of APC members in Anambra during the last election as unprecedented but lamented that the party’s national hierarchy did not match that enthusiasm with strategic backing.

“The extent of support and commitment we saw in the last election among members of APC in Anambra State has never happened before,” she said.

Ekwunife insisted that even a modest 20 per cent support from the national leadership could have swung the contest in their favour.

“If the party (national) had given us even 20 percent push, we would have gone far. We failed everybody, we failed our party, we failed our people,” she added.

While acknowledging divine will in electoral outcomes, Ekwunife said hard work and unity were essential.

“Yes, it is true that God gives power to who He wills… He can give it to us if we work for it,” she said, invoking the biblical teaching to “give Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to Him.”

She said the unity and desire to win shown by APC members in the state were clear signals that the party was on the brink of electoral success, if backed properly.

“For the first time, APC members in Anambra were desirous of winning election… but all they wanted was support,” she said.

Turning to the e‑registration drive, Ekwunife urged party members to fully participate, stressing that the exercise is not merely a headcount but a database that will determine how the party rewards its members.

“Some of you are seeing the process as mere registration, but it is a critical database… and this they want to use to empower their members,” she said.

She affirmed the party’s unity around President Bola Tinubu as its presidential candidate for 2027.

“I want to tell you that we already have a candidate for the 2027 presidential election, and he is President Bola Tinubu. We have agreed that he will fly the party’s ticket and we will support him,” Ekwunife declared.

She also spoke positively of her time in the Senate with Senator Oluremi Tinubu, expressing confidence in the leadership of the President and his wife.

“With she and her husband, Nigeria is in good hands,” she added.

Earlier, APC State Chairman, Basil Ejidike, expressed dissatisfaction with the low turnout in the e‑registration process, noting that Anambra and Abuja were the poorest performing chapters.

He urged party members to step up their participation to strengthen the party’s membership base.

According to the State e‑Registration Coordinator, Joe Okekeuche, only 17,488 people have registered so far, with Njikoka, Awka South, and Onitsha South emerging as the best‑performing local government areas.

Leaders of these LGAs were rewarded for their efforts, while Ihiala, Idemili South, and Anambra West were flagged as the least performing.