An erudite academic and political analyst, Professor Chinedu Nwankwo of Ajali, Anambra State, has heavily criticised the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South East over what he described as a self-inflicted leadership failure that is undermining the party’s credibility in the region.
Prof. Nwankwo condemned the decision of the South East APC leadership to invite Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, and Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo — both non-APC governors — to a core APC zonal stakeholders’ meeting, describing the move as “a gross error of judgment, political desperation, and betrayal of party values.”
Speaking on Saturday in Enugu ahead of the Expanded South East Zonal Stakeholders Meeting scheduled to hold at the Presidential Hotel, the professor faulted the zonal leadership under the National Vice Chairman (South East), Hon. Ijeomah Arodiogu, saying the invitation was embarrassing, contradictory, and dangerous to party cohesion.
“This is a core APC affair, not a political carnival,” Prof. Nwankwo stated firmly. “Inviting sitting governors who are not members of the APC as special guests of honour to a strategic party meeting exposes a dangerous lack of confidence within the South East APC leadership. It sends the wrong message, that the party cannot stand on its own strength in the region.”
The Arochukwu-born academic further recalled that the same South East APC leadership allegedly worked against its own governorship candidate, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, during the 2025 Anambra governorship election, accusing Hon. Arodiogu’s camp of deliberate sabotage and internal betrayal.
“You cannot betray your own governorship candidate yesterday and seek validation from opposition governors today,” he said sharply. “That is not leadership, it is greed dressed in political convenience.”
According to Prof. Nwankwo, such actions erode trust within the party and demoralise grassroots supporters who have remained loyal to the APC despite political pressure in the region.
He insisted that the APC has the capacity to dominate the South East if its leadership is focused, disciplined, and loyal to party ideals. “APC does not need borrowed legitimacy,” he stressed. “APC wins elections when it works hard, mobilizes its base, and presents credible candidates—not when it courts opposition governors at internal meetings.”
Addressing claims that the invited governors support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Prof. Nwankwo said there is only one honourable path if that support is genuine.
“They should decamp openly and officially to the APC,” he said. “Politics is not done through the back door. If they believe in President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, let them join the party formally, not as guests at a meeting meant to strengthen APC internal structures.”
Describing the invitation as a self-inflicted wound, he warned that personal ambition, elite appeasement, and greed must not override party discipline.
“This is how parties collapse from within,” he cautioned. “When leaders abandon ideology for optics, loyalty for convenience, and strategy for selfish gains.”
Prof. Nwankwo called on the APC national leadership to urgently review the conduct of its South East officials and reassert the party’s core values of loyalty, integrity, and internal democracy.
He ended by urging APC faithful across the South East to remain vigilant and committed to rebuilding the party on trust, discipline, and hard work.
“The APC must not be reduced to a gathering of confused leaders seeking validation from political opponents,” he said. “The future of the party in the South East depends on courage, clarity, and principled leadership.”
