The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate for the November 8, 2025, Anambra State election, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu has debunked allegations of fraud and malpractice in the April 5, 2025, governorship primary election of the party by his closest rival, Mr Valentine Ozigbo.
Ozigbo, who polled 65 votes as against Ukachukwu’s 1,455 votes, had described the APC primary as a charade and alleged that non-party members participated as delegates.
He also raised concerns over Ukachukwu’s qualification to fly the party’s flag and filed a lawsuit seeking his disqualification as the party’s candidate.
But in an exclusive interview with our correspondent in Awka, Ukachukwu dismissed the claims as misleading, stating that the party’s membership recognizes his capacity to deliver victory.
The governorship candidate expressed confidence in his ability to unseat incumbent Governor Charles Soludo, citing President Bola Tinubu’s backing as a boost to his candidacy.
Ukachukwu also pledged to serve a single term to complete the eight-year zoning arrangement for Anambra South, promoting equity and fairness in governance.
He called for unity within the party, urging his primary opponents to rally behind his candidacy, emphasizing the need to deliver Anambra to the APC.
The APC candidate, who also spoke on his vision for Anambra’s governance, vowed to run the state like a business if elected into office, citing his experience as a successful businessman.
“If you don’t run the government like a business, you will fail,” Ukachukwu stated, adding that, “Anambra State needs to be run as a business because you are running the collective wealth of the people.”
Ukachukwu promised to leverage his entrepreneurial acumen to drive economic transformation in Anambra, focusing on key areas such as agriculture, healthcare, education, security, and infrastructure development.
He emphasized the need to connect Anambra State to the centre, noting that a lot of projects have eluded the state because it is governed by a party not known to the centre.
On insinuations that Governor Soludo is in a close relationship with President Tinubu and will get his support for the November 8 election, the Anambra APC Governorship candidate wondered why a governor from another party would be courting an APC President to win the election.
Ukachukwu described President Tinubu as a committed party man, expressing the hope that the APC will deploy all of its arsenal to win the Anambra election.