Mr. Val Ozigbo, a former gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has announced his intention to run in the 2025 gubernatorial election in Anambra State.
Speaking during an interactive session with journalists in Anambra on Saturday, Ozigbo revealed that he had waited to evaluate Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s performance over two years before making his decision.
Expressing dissatisfaction with Soludo’s achievements after the two-year period, Ozigbo stated that he has resolved to contest the election.
Furthermore, Ozigbo clarified that he intends to serve only one term in office to adhere to the zoning arrangement favouring the Southern Senatorial Zone, which both he and Soludo hail from.
He said: “We have seen the leadership of Soludo in two years and some of you may be impressed but I’m not. After the last election in 2021, I called and wished him well and moved on and we have never spoken again. My decision was to assess him after two years, and having seen it, I’m not impressed and I want to start holding him accountable.
“I’m here to share my thoughts with you, what I think and no matter how you see what he (Soludo) is doing, you will be more proud when I mount the saddle.
“We need to change the narrative and look for a way to survive. We must fight to rescue Anambra. I’m a non-transactional politician. I have several things I can do, but my worry is how we can recover the state and put her on the path of development.
“Zoning is a good thing. But it must be combined with competence to make sense. Don’t pick a renegade just because he is from a certain zone, and don’t pick the best when you know you can pick one that is better.
“I respect zoning, and I will be making a case for a single term of four years. Anyone who sees what Alex Otti is doing in Abia will know that four years is enough time to do a lot of work.
“I will honour that principle of zoning, and I will not need anyone’s push or prompting to do otherwise. I will be ready to make an agreement and do an undertaking that I will do in just one term. I also wish to tell you that Obi has been consistent that a Southerner who emerges will only do one term.
“It is a settled matter that I intend to run for just one term. I intend to keep faith with the agreement.”
