Val Ozigbo blasts Soludo over 'theatrical optics' during Tinubu's visit to Anambra

Valentine Ozigbo, a leading contender in the upcoming 2025 Anambra governorship race, has slammed Governor Chukwuma Soludo for staging what he called a "theatre of optics" during President Bola Tinubu's visit.

Tinubu paid a working visit to Anambra on Thursday, May 8, 2025, to commission the Solution FunCity, a new Government House, and the Emeka Anyaoku Institute for International Studies and Diplomacy at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, all legacy projects of the Soludo-led administration.

However, while the President was received with pomp and pageantry, Ozigbo, a member of Tinubu's party - the All Progressives Congress (APC) - used the occasion to launch a searing assessment of Soludo’s tenure.

In a statement on Thursday, the APC governorship hopeful first welcomed the President with grace, describing his visit as an honour to the people of Anambra.

"Your Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I warmly welcome you to Anambra State — the heartbeat of the Southeast," he said.

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“It is always a moment of pride when the Commander-in-Chief visits our beloved state, and we honour your presence as a sign of national unity and shared purpose.”

Ozigbo lays into Soludo

However, the APC chieftain turned attention to Soludo, describing his three-year record as “a glaring theatre of missed priorities, misplaced ambitions, and media optics masquerading as progress.”

He questioned the wisdom of showcasing projects such as an amusement park — dubbed Solution FunCity — while essential public needs remain ignored.

“Governance is not a film trick,” he contested, adding, “Governance is not about cutting ribbons on facades while the foundation rots.”

The APC governorship hopeful described the commissioned projects as monuments to image management rather than substantive development.

“In over three years in office, Governor Soludo has delivered zero public housing, zero real investment inflow, and zero structural transformation of our economy,” he charged.

“This facility should rightly have been left to private investors in a healthy economic climate. What critical social problem does this park solve? Hunger? Unemployment? Fear?” he said regarding the Solution FunCity project.

Ozigbo further described the commissioning as an “act of political cowardice” after reports surfaced that the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) members were instructed not to wear party-branded clothing to the event, allegedly to avoid negative optics before the President.

“What a betrayal,” he marvelled. “If your policies are strong and your house is in order, why hide your colours?”

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The governorship hopeful has emerged as a vocal moral voice in the state’s political arena. His statement underscored not just alleged policy failures but a broader crisis of leadership.

“We deserve a government that builds lives, not just lodges,” he declared.

“A leadership that puts people before propaganda. A Governor whose work speaks louder than his PR.”

He highlighted the persisting economic and social woes in Anambra State, particularly the housing crisis, lack of transport infrastructure, and unaddressed insecurity.

“Most civil servants in Awka — the same people whose taxes fund this carnival — cannot afford to live in the city,” he noted.

“As I have always said, Anambra is not short of talent or promise — we are short of leadership that puts the people first.

“I do not believe in politics as performance art. I believe in politics as service — rooted in compassion, driven by vision, and measured by real change in people’s lives,” Ozigbo concluded.