AWKA, Nigeria – Valentine Ozigbo, a Nigerian business leader and a governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has expressed confidence that he can defeat the incumbent governor of Anambra State, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, if the court declares him the party’s candidate for the November 8 election.
Ozigbo, who is challenging Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu’s emergence as the APC candidate in court, said that even a last-minute ruling in his favour would not stop him from mounting a strong campaign.
“We’re in court to challenge the candidacy of Nicholas Ukachukwu. We have been in the high court and appeal court. People tell me there is no time any longer that even if I remove him I may not have time anymore to campaign and win, but I tell them that even if it is just two weeks or one month, we will go ahead to win the election,” Ozigbo said during an interview with media personality Uche Nworah at Lagos airport on Tuesday, September 16, 2025.
He insisted that the people of Anambra were waiting for him, describing what he called growing disillusionment with Soludo’s administration.
“The good news is that people are eagerly expecting me to come and fix Anambra, and the bad news now is that Soludo is going about the election as if he does not have any challengers, because he knows he does not,” Ozigbo, the immediate past President and Group CEO of Transcorp Plc, said.
Ozigbo criticised Soludo’s record in office, particularly his unfulfilled vision of building what he once described as an “African Dubai Taiwan.”
The multiple-award-winning global CEO questioned the governor’s leadership capacity, stressing that voters should focus on trust and competence rather than lofty promises.
“People want to hear what I am going to do differently in insecurity, infrastructure, education, healthcare, but I always tell people do look forward to first asking who is this person? People can pay consultants to write manifestos for them; that I will do this, I will do that, but can they be trusted? What is their level of emotional intelligence?” Ozigbo declared.
“I’m an investor, and I know that if you invest in the wrong person you are finished. Soludo told us about building African Dubai Taiwan. Where is it today. The true question is who is Soludo? He should not have been entrusted with power in the first place. I am better prepared than him because at least I agree that I do not know certain things, I know my weaknesses and my positive sides,” he added.
When asked whether he would support Ukachukwu if the court does not rule in his favour, Ozigbo said he would remain in the APC but would not back what he described as a party error.
“If the party makes a mistake, I will leave the party in their mistake, that doesn’t mean I will leave the party,” he said.
Reflecting on his political journey, Ozigbo said critics had once faulted his defection from the Labour Party, but argued that his move to the APC had proven to be the right choice.
“There is life beyond just the coming election. Some people already condemned me for joining APCs and they thought leaving Labour Party was suicidal, but in the fullness of time, they found out that was the best decision of my life,” he stated.
The Anambra governorship election is scheduled for November 8, with Governor Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) seeking re-election.
The outcome of Ozigbo’s case will determine whether he appears on the ballot as the APC candidate
