Anambra State elections: Big three battle for governor

This weekend millions of voters in Anambra will head out to elect the next governor of the state.

Anambra has in recent times been subject to security worries due to the activities of secessionist groups like the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) over the continued detention of their leader Nnamdi Kanu.

Kanu is undergoing trial over allegations of treason. The election in Anambra this weekend, therefore, is seen by many as critical to addressing the developmental issues bedeviling the state. Hence, the eventual winner has to be someone the people carefully choose.

There are three major candidates including Valentine Ozigbo, Andy Uba, and Charles Soludo.

Valentine Ozigbo

Born in Anambra in the southeastern part of Nigeria, Vincent Chineto Ozigbo described himself in several interviews as a high flyer in his school days at Christ the Redeemer College, Amesi in Anambra State where he had his secondary school education.
He graduated with a first-class degree in Accounting at the University of Nigeria Nsukka in 1994 where he also obtained his master’s degree in 2000. He also won a Chevening scholarship to study finance at Lancaster University in the UK.

The PDP governorship candidate has worked in various organizations including Diamond Bank, UBA, FSB international banking, Keystone bank, and most notably the managing director and Chief Executive Officer of Transcorp Hotels where he actualized business expansion objectives with numerous awards.

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The former Transcorp Hotels Chief Executive Officer is married to Mary-Callista Ojiugo Ozigbo and blessed with four children; Mario, Angello, Mitchel, and Valerie.

With the popular slogan “Ka Anambra chawapu” which in English translates to “let Anambra shine”

Chukwuma Soludo

Charles Chukwuma Soludo hails from Aguata in Anambra state. He was born on the 28th of July 1960. Although little is known about his childhood, he lost his mother at the age of 8 years.

After his primary and secondary school education, Soludo obtained his first degree, Master’s degree, and a professorship at the University of Nigeria in Nsukka Enugu state where he bagged first-class honours in his first degree in 1984 and he was designated the best student at all three levels.

He was appointed a professor in Economics in the same university in 1998 and the next year was a visiting professor at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, US.

Under the Obasanjo regime, Soludo became the chief economic adviser for the former president in 2003 and the Chief Executive Officer of the National Planning Commission of Nigeria. He became the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2008 and an appointed member of the newly formed 8-member Economic Advisory Council (EAC) On October 16, 2019.

Charles Soludo is happily married to Nonye Chukwuma Soludo and they are blessed with 6 children.

After coming short in his 2010 Anambra governorship bid, he now aspires to become the next governor in 2022 under the party of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) party.

He has written books like ‘North-South Macroeconomic Interactions: Comparative Analysis using the Multimod and Intermod global models’ in 1992, and so many other books on macroeconomics, some of them he co-wrote with other scholars.

Andy Uba

Born Emmanuel Nnamdi Uba on the 14th December 1958 in Enugu southeast of Nigeria, he started his education at Boys High School in Awkunanaw.

After secondary school, Uba claimed he went on to study at Concordia University, however, the University has conceded that although he was admitted, he never finished the program he applied for.

Following a role he played in helping the PDP secure the Presidency in 1999 even though he was residing in the United States, he got back to Nigeria and was appointed Special Assistant on Special Duties and Domestic Affairs to President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Uba participated in the PDP primaries for the Anambra State governorship election,14 April 2007 and was elected as governor of the state. However, the election was challenged by Peter Obi who argued that he had won the election in 2006 and since the courts had acknowledged that victory, he still had three more years to serve in the position of governor of Anambra. The courts accepted Obi’s arguments.

In April 2011 Uba won the Anambra South Senatorial region on the platform of PDP.

He defected to the ruling party APC in February 2017 and is now running for the office of governor of Anambra state for the November 2021 polls.

Uba is married to Gloria Obiageli although separated; they have 4 children.