Valentine Ozigbo is a former governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State and an aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2025 governorship election in the state.

In this interview, he speaks on why he defected from the Labour Party (LP) to the ruling APC and his chances of getting the party’s ticket, among other issues, ANAYO EZUGWU writes

What are the contending issues that made you to defect from the Labour Party (LP) and by extension, the Obidient Movement to the APC?

I like your choice of word – contending – because they’re not as simplistic as I see the reactions on social media. And I have to first appreciate God Almighty for where I am today and what is going on and to appreciate the teaming supporters out there, those who are excited about this move, those who are not so excited and those who are ignorant about the move.

What I promise is engagement. Over time, I believe a lot of people will understand the strategic nature of this move. Where do I start?

There are always push and pull factors when a decision of this nature is made. Some things are happening in your current situation that you’re not proud of, that you’re not excited about, that will lead you to explore and go beyond where you are and look for what you can consider a better alternative.

And then when you look out there, there are also things that you’re going to see, there are pull factors that will draw you to where you’re headed and that ultimately land you to the decision point. I am at peace with the decision I’ve taken because of a number of these contending issues. Let’s start with the push factors.

I see a Labour Party where I’m not so proud of the future. I started asking myself where we were headed. On one hand, there are litigation issues around the leadership and chairmanship. Up to today, there’s a case at the Supreme Court and a multiplicity of other cases that we don’t even know about.

And whether Julius Abure wins or loses, there are implications that I’m not proud of. And when I think about what even originated these whole recent issues, beyond the other issues about Lamidi Apapa, Abayomi Arabambi and co, on the side of the Abure, was the national convention that took place in Anambra State. I consider that process very flawed.

Typically, you start the national convention from the ward level, then local government, states, and national. But it was done upside down, and there are implications. A lot of the Obidients wanted to get into the party through the right process.

I’m not saying we must change the leadership, but we must let the leadership go through the right process. I’ve always emphasised the right process. So, if you are introducing the wrong process, then I am not going to be party to it because when people use the word loyalty, they miss the point.

Loyalty is not usually to individuals. Loyalty is to values, certain things that you hold dear. In the case of the Labour Party, beyond the national convention, which was flawed, there was also another event that took place during the Anambra State congress. They practically decimated the party and I raised the alarm.

I complained to Abure himself; to our national leader, Peter Obi; to the Governor Ales Otti of Abia state, and whoever that cares to listen that we are destroying the Labour Party in Anambra State. When you look at these issues and consider the huge defections, people are losing faith in the Labour Party and moving away to other parties.

Now, take record of all the elections we’ve lost. Almost all the states, not just that we lost, abysmal loss, total failure. So, I said to myself, if Anambra is something I’m passionate about, if I want to rescue my people, is it going to be on what platform.

The question is: Should I just remain loya and watch the people continue to suffer? The answer is no and the definition of loyalty, I’ve spoken about. So, there was a real consciousness around this conversation. And I engaged with a lot of people, a lot of institutions, here is the situation with the Labour Party, what do we do next?

Did you engage with Peter Obi, and what was his reaction, and how did he take the fact that his most trusted deputies have deserted him?

The point here is that there’s a need for a lot of people who are on social media to understand the issues because this not just about emotion.

There’s a bit of emotion, but we’ve also got to bring logic and strategy and reasonableness into the conversation.

So, I asked a lot of people if they wanted Valentine Ozigbo to be the governor of Anambra State, and if it is no longer going to be Labour Party, where else. I’ve asked everybody who cared to listen to give me an answer. I’m going to fight an incumbent who we believe is not doing well.

A lot of people are not comfortable with Soludo’s nature and style of governance, but there’s also a need to have a structure that can enable you to protect the win when it does happen

So, if we want to change Soludo, which other party, if it’s not the Labour Party? And I’m challenging everybody listening to me, which other party? Is it PDP? And they said no, it’s not PDP. So, PDP wasn’t going to be an option. Is it that we use APC or some other smaller parties?

It’s easier to even win a primary in those other parties and move on. However, to be able to contend with an incumbent governor, you need to also be very strategic. Now, these are reasons, thinking outside of the box, moving away from Labour Party arose. Now, what pulled me into APC?

Beyond being a large party with a lot of structure and following, I have never been in doubt that I will be able to defeat Soludo, even if I take any party, because of the rising momentum that we’ve garnered and the grassroots base that we have.

And like I said to you, a lot of people are not quite comfortable with his nature and style of governance, but there’s also a need to have a structure that can enable you to protect the win when it does happen.

Because here we are, again, an incumbent; if it was a neutral ground, it’s okay. If you try to run under a smaller party, you’re going to spend a lot of resources, which you may not even have, the probability of success will be very low.

APC also needs somebody like me, who would not only bring the base of support but win on the ground. I have a lot of ideas about what I want to unfold. I want to build better synergy.

I want to be able to connect to the grid. I want to be able to make this a proper win-win for Anambra people. And guess what? In my conclusion, I started seeing Labour as worse than APC and PDP combined because of the nature of the issues there.

If I get into APC and win and become governor of Anambra under APC, I don’t see the concern people raise about APC changing me. I would rather inspire change from within to get people to now begin to appreciate value and love for the party

Some people say that you are a political opportunist who tried to ride on the coattails of Peter Obi to the Anambra State governorship in 2021, and now you are seeking opportunity from the ruling party. How true is this assertion?

Let me clarify certain things. First, I decided to go into politics and run for governorship of Anambra State. By the grace of God, out of 15 of us who wanted to be candidate of PDP in 2021, I was privileged to emerge winner.

And by the time that I became a candidate of PDP, I received zero penny from Peter Obi. So, he didn’t sponsor me. Now, did he support me in the main election? Yes, he did and I’m very grateful to God for that.

My respect for Peter Obi hasn’t diminished. My relationship with him is still very civil. So, there is no personal issue. And this is not just about Peter Obi and Valentine. That’s not the conversation. We’re talking about the Anambra people.

I took a deliberate decision. I can count up to 10 times we had a conversation about Anambra. A few weeks before my last trip to the UK, I met with him. I told him I’m uncomfortable with Labour Party, and it’s not likely I’m going to use the Labour Party to run.

What was his reaction?

We debated it, and he felt the issues could be resolved. I said you are running for election in 2027. Mine is this year. I don’t have the time. If it is 2027, I could be patient.

If you are decent and honourable enough to use the right words, you can’t get any reaction that could be acrimonious. But the point I’m making here is that I reached out and I’m thankful for his support. but we needed to take a decision.

And guess what? Let me also say this to a lot of people. A lot of the Obidients who were upset, did so because they didn’t hear from me.

I’ve had to engage in Twitter and Zoom meetings with a lot of them. I’ve not heard of anybody that I’ve spoken to that understood my reason that is not supporting me.

How politically delicate are things for you now and what are your chances of becoming the APC governorship candidate in Anambra State?

Let me be honest with you. Politics is a game; it’s a probability game. If I say to you that it is certain that I will be the APC candidate, I’ll be lying to you. But do I stand a good chance?

Yes, because the majority of the leadership of APC is excited. Who is this guy who just entered APC, and everyone is excited. The people who are threatened are people who are running against me.

However, on one hand, I want to say to you that they are not new to me and I’m not new to them. Don’t forget that I ran for the primary with some of them in the 2021 election, and some of them were active in the other camp.

Someone like Obiora Okonkwo came second to me in the PDP primary even though he has been a long funder of PDP. When I jumped out of TransCorp to go into the Anambra election, I was faced with a scenario. How do you think from nowhere you can go to PDP of all parties with 14 other people?

That’s what they were telling me. I wasn’t perturbed. Guess what? I came first in the primary. Why won’t I repeat this now that I’ve learned the job? I am bringing value to APC. A lot of these people are new to APC. Guess what?

When they joined APC, people didn’t even notice. But who in Nigeria doesn’t know that Valentine is an APC today? That’s the difference. I’m bringing incredible value. If APC is desirous of winning Anambra State, they know what to do. And all I usually ask for is a level playing field. Just give us a free and fair primary. If I win, I win. If I lose, I lose.