A Nigerian senator, Ifeanyi Ubah, has declared his interest in contesting the Anambra gubernatorial election in 2025, saying he will only hold the position for one term.
Ubah, who represents Anambra South District in the Senate, announced this on Sunday while speaking to journalists in Nnewi, his community, according to a report by TheCable.
“All that is asked is a four-year term,” he said.
The senator said that if elected governor, he would hold local council elections in the state within four months.
“At the moment, I rate the governance in Anambra for the last 18 years at 20 per cent. I will bring 80 percent content that has never been discussed in governance,” Ubah said.
The senator is the first to publicly declare interest in the state’s upcoming gubernatorial election.
The current Anambra Governor, Charles Soludo, will end his first term on March 17, 2026.
Gubernatorial elections are expected to be held in the state in 2025.
There are indications that Soludo, a member of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), will seek re-election in the upcoming elections.
Why am I competing?
Ubah, a member of the All Progressives Congress, gave reasons to try to contest the upcoming gubernatorial election in the state.
“I have a burning desire to contest the upcoming gubernatorial election in Anambra because this government and the previous ones have failed to put the state on the development trajectory that our people desire.
“We need to build support for our trade, we need to develop our sector into a hub for health tourists and accelerate community development through local government elections,” he said.
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The senator said that electing people “with exaggerated personalities and structures” has not benefited the state.
“It’s time for us to vote for people with passion, people with track records. That’s what I represent.
“I am willing to change the narrative and that is why my manifesto remains the same from 2013 to date,” Ubah added.
Background
This is not the first time Ubah has run for governor.
The senator has been seeking to be governor of the state since 2013, which has seen him defect to different political parties to achieve his ambition.
He was the Young Progressive Party’s gubernatorial candidate in the 2021 gubernatorial 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 statement comes days after he criticized Governor Soludo for suspending a traditional ruler who conferred a chieftaincy title (Ubah) on him.
Ubah had described Soludo’s suspension of the monarch as “a game of politics” and emphasized that the governor’s action was related to his (Ubah) likely interest in the state governorship race in 2025.
“The governor is frustrated by my acceptance and popularity; “He is nervous about the upcoming gubernatorial elections, but I leave him with his conscience,” the senator had said.
The governor has since reinstated the monarch.