Anambra 2025: LG Chairman Reacts as Four Lawmakers Defect to APC
- Mayor of Orumba North LGA of Anambra state, Casmir Nwafor, has thrown light on why four serving lawmakers defected to APC ahead of the state's governorship election
- The council boss says the lawmakers, though wooed with money, yet, will still mobilize their supporters and do the needful on election day
- He enumerated his achievements as local government chairman, and said his strides were possible because of Soludo's transformative governance
Mayor of Orumba North local government area of Anambra state, Captain (Barr) Casmir Nwafor, has said that the four lawmakers who defected to the All Progressive Congress (APC) on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, were wooed with money, and that they would not likely support APC during the November 8 governorship election.
Four serving lawmakers in the Anambra state House of Assembly joined the APC during the official inauguration of the party's governorship campaign council in the state on Tuesday, September 23, 2025.
Source: Original
Nwafor alleges cash-driven lawmaker defection plot
They include: Hon. Ike Augustine Onyekachukwu (Nnewi North), Hon. Obalim Patrick Udoba (Anambra West), Hon. Paul Obu (Orumba North), and Hon. Emma Oforka (Onitsha North).
In an exclusive chat with Legit.ng on Thursday, September 25, 2025, in Ajali, Orumba North headquarters, the council boss revealed that the lawmakers embarked on the defection with the aim of getting money, not for the love of the party or its gubernatorial candidate.
"I heard that each of the APC governors and the FCT Minister will support the campaign of the gubernatorial candidate with one billion naira each. Senators and House of Representatives members of the party will also support him. That is big money for you! So, the defectors are positioning themselves to partake of the money.
"I wish them good luck, and I wish others will still defect and get their own share because, they're sharing money that belong to all of us. They're not defecting for the love of the party but for the love of the money. I believe that come November 8 governorship election, they will still mobilize their supporters and do the needful despite the money.
"All of us are aware that in one single term, Soludo did what no other governor did in eight years. Awka capital used to be a glorified village, but under Soludo, the capital territory has been transformed. He has restored sanity in governance. He has invested a lot in healthcare, education, and other sectors of the state.
"Soludo has no credible challenge in the coming election. He has made the work easy through his numerous projects, and these projects will speak for him. So, if they like, they can invite Imo and Ebonyi lawmakers to join them for their campaigns, it will not make any difference," he said.
Anambra mayor highlights major achievements
On the numerous works his administration has done in Orumba North LGA under one year, the Mayor said that his administration has improved on infrastructure and amenities he met on the ground.
He said:
"When I came in, the first thing I did was to travel to Lagos and Rivers to understudy certain critical areas of the local government system and how they work. That visit actually equiped me on the journey ahead of me.
Source: Original
"When I came in as local government chairman in Orumba North, there was no offices for councillors, no office for the council chairman, no canteen, no lodge for corps members, and no reliable source of power supply. What I did was to procure new transformer to provide reliable source of power to the council secretariate and its environs. We built chairman's office and a befitting office block for councillors.
"We also constructed security post with offices and and cells. We built the main gate to the secretariate, reconstructed and beautified the fences, built the local government pavilion and named it after the first chairman of the local government area, Hon. Chief Christopher Ibechenna Okechukwu, among other achievements.
"When we came in, we also had issues with roads. Majority of the internal rods were delapidated, and in very bad shape. We quickly started work on some of them. One is the 1.5km Ogbuli-Otu road in Ajali, which was in shambles before the reconstruction. Another was construction of the Uhudo-Ifite link road in Oko, which was also about 1.5km.
"Health was another area we had serious challenge when we came in. In order to arrest the situation, we equipment all the health centers, clinics and hospitals with equipment and drugs. On empowerment, we employed a lot of people in the council area, and also supported many market women with seed money to grow their chosen business ventures."
He also mentioned specific efforts the council under him made in agriculture and education, and attributed the successes to the transformative governance of Governor Charles Soludo.
Earlier during the visit, the Supervisory Councillor for Works in the local government area, Engr Austin Ganco Okoli, with the Director of Works in the local government, Mr. Nwanegbo Michael, praised the local government Mayor, Casmir Nwafor, as well as Governor Chukwuma Soludo for their efforts in transforming the area through adequate supply and equitable distribution of democracy dividends.
Influential politician mentions which party people should support
Earlier, Legit.ng reported a renowned politician, and Chief of Staff to former Governor Willie Maduaburochukwu Obiano, Chief Primus Odili, had called on Anambra people to continue to support the government of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) in the state.
Chief Odili, a senatorial aspirant in Anambra North senatorial district in the 2023 general election, made the plea while addressing members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Anambra State council, at the Godwin Ezeemo Secretariate, Awka, on Thursday, October 2, during the monthly Congress of the union.
Source: Legit.ng
