The House of Representatives members from Anambra State have denied endorsing Governor Chukwuma Soludo for re-election ahead of the 2025 governorship election in the state.
Leader of the Anambra State Caucus in the House of Representatives, and member representing Ogbaru federal constituency, Hon. Victor Afam Ogene in a statement on Sunday, admitted that he paid the governor a courtesy visit together with his colleagues at the Governor’s Lodge, Amawbia during the weekend, he however clarified that their discussions centred only on joining hands with the Governor to develop the state.
Hon. Ogene who was reacting to a report on social media platforms entitled, “Anambra State Caucus, House of Representatives, Endorses Gov. Soludo”, described it as a blackmail on his members.
He stated that even Governor Soludo who himself wrote on the essence of the visit to his X-handle, never made such wild claims.
The Federal lawmaker blamed the claim of endorsing Governor Soludo as the handiwork of “middlesome interlopers”, saying the lawmakers had no cause to endorse anyone ”
The statement titled, “Re: Anambra State Caucus, House of Representatives, Endorses Gov. Soludo – A Rebuttal” reads in part, “Our attention has been drawn to wild rumours, circulating across several WhatsApp platforms, to the effect that the Anambra State Caucus, 10th House of Representatives, has endorsed Governor Chukwuma Soludo for a second tenure in office.
“Although the Caucus, made up of nine, out of its 11 members paid Governor Soludo a courtesy visit on Friday, June 28, 2024 at the Governor’s Lodge, Amawbia, our deliberations centred primarily on forging a development synergy for the overall interest of our state.
“Indeed, at no time during the almost five-hour chit-chat, during which both sides dissected the multifarious development and security challenges that confront our people – everyone was allowed to freely make contributions, in a free, no-holds barred manner.
“As a matter of fact, Governor Soludo himself aptly captured the essence of our visit, when he wrote on his X handle thus, “Yesterday, I had the honour of welcoming the Anambra State Caucus of the Federal House of Representatives to the Governor’s Lodge in Amawbia. It was a pivotal step towards fortifying our collaboration in infrastructural partnership and development.
“Our discussions were marked by a shared commitment to transcend party affiliations and work together harmoniously to champion initiatives at the national level that will significantly benefit Ndi Anambra,” Governor Soludo wrote.
“We wish to add that personal, or party aspirations, never featured in our exchanges during the visit. We, therefore, had no cause to endorse anyone.
“As we begin this new chapter of development-centric collaboration between the Executive and Legislative arms, we urge meddlesome interlopers not to truncate this laudable gesture in the guise of projecting narrow partisan considerations,” the statement read further.