Guber poll: Ganduje urges Anambra billionaires not to use money to disrupt APC

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdulahi Ganduje, has called on Anambra’s billionaires to refrain from using their wealth to destabilize the party ahead of the upcoming governorship primary, scheduled for April 5, 2025.
During a courtesy call by a support group, Booth to Booth with Bola Tinubu, in Abuja on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, Ganduje emphasized the need for unity within the party as it prepares for the primary election. He reassured members that the APC would ensure a free, fair, and transparent process.
“As a party, if we are to have a good primary in Anambra, all our stakeholders need to be ‘born again,’” Ganduje said. “This time around, business should not be as usual. Let us support the system. We know they are very rich, they have a lot of money, but they should not use that money to scatter the state.”
He urged the wealthy party members not to misuse their resources in ways that could destabilize the party, but instead focus on using their wealth to develop Anambra and strengthen the APC. Ganduje even offered a special incentive: “In fact, I will be highly interested if they can produce a consensus candidate. If they do, I will give them an award.”
On the matter of the method for the primary, Ganduje assured that the National Working Committee (NWC) would consult with the party leadership and decide on the best approach—whether direct or indirect—before the primary election.
Concerns over insecurity and primary election method
Earlier, the National Coordinator of the Booth to Booth with Bola Tinubu group, Iyke Madu, raised concerns about the security situation in Anambra State and its impact on the ability to hold a direct primary. Madu pointed out that the state government had been unable to conduct local government elections due to the ongoing insecurity, with some communities being informed that elections could not be held due to safety concerns.
“There is an issue of insecurity in Anambra as we speak. Even the state government could not conduct their own local government elections due to insecurity,” Madu explained. “They wrote to certain communities telling them that, due to insecurity, elections cannot be conducted in those places.”
Given the challenges, Madu appealed to the APC’s National Working Committee to consider adopting an indirect primary method to elect the party’s candidate for the governorship race. He argued that if the state government struggled to conduct local elections, it would be even harder for a party without control of the state to carry out direct primaries.
“We are here requesting the party to make these primaries indirect primaries. Our constitution provides for that,” Madu concluded.
With tensions rising in Anambra over the upcoming election, all eyes will be on how the APC handles these challenges and ensures a peaceful and transparent primary process.