Ahead of the August 26 2026, Local Government Area election in Anambra State, about 15 serving Mayors may be dropped as candidates of the All Progressives Grand Alliance ( APGA).
New Telegraph gathered that the 21 Council Mayors were promised automatic party tickets should they deliver Governor Charles Soludo during the last gubernatorial election in the state, a development that has not gone down well with some aspirants of the party for the coming election.
Already, about 87 persons have indicated interest in contesting the ticket of the party, and there have been sustained lobbying efforts by these aspirants among party leaders for them to be considered.
A close source to the party leadership confirmed that the 15 serving Mayors cut across the three Senatorial Districts of Anambra state, and they may be dropped on the grounds of poor performance, while some are going to be dropped based on the zoning arrangements in their respective Council Areas.
“In Anambra South Senatorial District, only three serving Mayors may be returned, while in Anambra Central, one of the Council Mayors may be appointed as Commissioner for Women Affairs in a major cabinet shake-up by Governor Charles Soludo”
“Also, five serving Mayors may not make it back to their seats, as it was alleged that they have pending issues with the stakeholders of the party in the area”
“For those in Anambra North Senatorial District, there are pressures on the Governor and the party to drop most of the serving Mayors with the exception of that of Onitsha South local government area for certain obvious reasons”, the source stated.
When contacted, the state Chairman of the party, Bar Ifeatu Obi-Okoy,e described the report as mere political rumours, adding that it is too early to begin making conjectures about who becomes the candidate of the party.
“I see it as mere rumours, but I also know that this is part of politics, and it is expected that there must be lobbies and pressure on some party chieftains by aspirants ”
“I have not been approached by anyone, but there have been phone calls from some party faithfuls who told me that they are interested ”
Obi-Okoye, however, explained that the party has laid down guidelines for the conduct of the primary elections as well as the stipulations of the party’s constitution.
“We as a party have a constitution and also guidelines for the primary elections, which starts with the indication of interest and screening, and then a committee for claims and objections, and then the primary elections proper, and that is after the final publication of the cleared aspirants “, he said.
He also warned against what he called name-dropping, adding that the party believes and professes the internal democracy and rule of law and would not want to be found wanting in the Democratic processes.
