In a move to solidify their stance on the upcoming 2025 Anambra gubernatorial election, members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Elders Forum in the state have strongly defended the existing zoning arrangement, according to reports from Vanguard.
Rising from a meeting in Awka, the state capital, on Wednesday, the forum, comprising seasoned politicians, businessmen, and university professors, insisted that the next governor of Anambra must come from the Anambra South senatorial district.
This zone is currently represented by the incumbent Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) party.
The state chairman of the APC Elders Forum, Sir Innocent Obi, told reporters that the forum is ready to face the consequences of their decision to uphold the zoning arrangement. "Whatever decision we take on zoning, we will be ready to bear the consequences," Obi said.
Obi explained that the zoning arrangement was a written agreement reached by the elders of Anambra State, including the late Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife and Mbazulike Amechi, to ensure a smooth power transition among the three senatorial districts in the state.
"There was an agreement by the elders of Anambra State, including Emeka Anyaku, the late Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, late Mbazulike Amechi and many others, who met and decided that power should be rotating among the three zones. It was not a political party decision as such," Obi stated.
The APC elders warned that any attempt to disregard the zoning arrangement would be met with consequences, as witnessed in the previous election where a candidate who did not emerge from the appropriate zone suffered defeat.
Obi revealed that the APC elders in Anambra have already commenced grassroots mobilization in preparation for the November 2025 gubernatorial election.
He also called on President Bola Tinubu to consider granting more appointments to people from Anambra State, as a way of making the APC more popular in the state.
"In 1999, the South West didn't vote for PDP, but it got everything: In a game, people play different roles. If you judge us from the role we played during the 2023 election, you should realize that other parties-APGA & LP- had advantages over APC here, but with our little capacity, we were able to checkmate them," Obi added.