Support group condemns Soludo’s disqualification

• Ozigbo still in the race, name omitted, not dropped, say, loyalists

The Soludo Support Group (SSG), Academics and Students Forum, has said that the disqualification of the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Chukwuma Soludo, from contesting the November 6, 2021 governorship election in Anambra State is not a thing of worry to his supporters.

It said that the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would not deter the organisers of the inauguration of the group in Awka, the state capital, to keep the hope of the group alive.

Co-ordinator of All Higher Institutions for Soludo, Prof. Chinwuba Arinze, said the group was neither perturbed nor demoralized by the omission of the name of Soludo from the list of this year’s governorship contestants, describing the development as “a mere gimmick” that will not stand the test of time.

Arinze, who described his group as Soludo’s apostles and crusaders in the higher institutions, noted that the initial announcement was a shocker to members, but expressed the hope that Soludo would make a rebound after the determination of the appeal against Umeoji’s emergence.

Also, the Co-ordinator of SSG (Academics and Students) at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu University (CCOU), Igbariamm, Dr. Chigozie Ntomchukwu, described the release of the governorship contenders in which Soludo’s name was missing as “mere window dressing.”

Meanwhile, the embattled All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) aspirant, Soludo, had reacted to his disqualification, saying that he is still in the Anambra State governorship race despite the exclusion of his name from the list of candidates for the November 6 Anambra governorship election.

He urged his supporters and APGA faithful to remain calm, adding that, at the appropriate time, his name will make the list.

IN a related development, loyalists of the governorship contender of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Valentine Ozigbo, whose name did not appear in the recently-published list of candidates of the political parties, have said it is a temporary omission.

The group, known as the Valentine Ozigbo Campaign Organisation, assured the people of the state that the party’s frontline candidate in the November 6 election is still in the governorship race.

A statement signed by the Media Adviser of the campaign organisation, Aziza Uko, and made available to The Guardian, at the weekend, noted that the INEC relied on a court order in not publishing the name of the PDP candidate, Ozigbo, which she described as “a matter of procedure and temporary.”

Uko said that the PDP had mobilised men and resources to ensure the said order is vacated to enable the electoral body update its records with the name of Valentine Ozigbo as the gubernatorial candidate for Anambra State.

She also assured that “the issues will be resolved in no time and open the space for a one-of-a-kind campaign on issues that were top on the minds of Ndi Anambra with regards to their yearnings for transformational leadership that will usher in a new era of peace and progress to the state.”