Why I’ll contest for Anambra governorship in 2025- Ifeanyi Ubah

A Nigerian senator, Ifeanyi Ubah, has declared interest to contest in the 2025 Anambra governorship election, saying he will only serve for one term in office.

Mr Ubah, who represents Anambra South District at the Senate, announced this on Sunday while speaking with reporters in Nnewi, his community, according to a report by TheCable.

“All ask for is one term of four years,” he said.

The senator said, if elected governor, he would conduct local council elections in the state within four months.

“At the moment, I rate governance in Anambra for the past 18 years at 20 per cent. I will bring 80 per cent content that has never been discussed in governance,” Mr Ubah stated.

The senator is the first to publicly declare interest in the next governorship election in the state.

The current governor of the Anambra, Charles Soludo, will finish his first term by 17 March 2026.

A governorship election is expected to be conducted in the state in 2025.

There are indications that Mr Soludo, a member of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), will seek reelection in the next poll.

Why I am contesting
Mr Ubah, a member of the All Progressives Congress, gave reason for seeking to contest in the next governorship poll in the state.

“I have a burning desire to contest the next governorship election in Anambra because this government and those before it have not been able to put the state in the development trajectory that our people desire.

“We need to create support for our commerce, we have to develop our sector to make it a hub for health tourists and accelerate community development through local government elections,” he said.

The senator said electing people “with over-bloated personalities and structure” has not benefited the state.

“It is time we vote for people with passion, people with a track record. That is what I represent.

“l am prepared to change the narrative, and that is why my manifesto has remained the same from 2013 till date,” Mr Ubah added.

Background
This is not the first Mr Ubah would be contesting for the governorship election.

The senator has been seeking to be governor of the since 2013 which has seen him defecting to different political parties to achieve his ambition.

He was the governorship candidate of the Young Progressives Party in the 2021 governorship election in the state which was won by the incumbent governor, Mr Soludo of the APGA.

Mr Ubah hails from Otolo, Nnewi, a community in Nnewi North Local Government Area of the state.

His declaration comes days after he slammed Governor Soludo for suspending a traditional ruler who conferred a chieftaincy title on him (Ubah).

Mr Ubah had described Mr Soludo’s suspension of the monarch as “a game of politics” stressing that the governor’s action was connected to his (Ubah) likely interest in the 2025 governorship race in the state.

“The governor is frustrated by my acceptance and popularity; he is jittery about the next governorship election, but I leave him to his conscience,” the senator had said.

The governor has since reinstated the monarch.