Anambra, the commercial powerhouse of the South-East with Onitsha’s markets and Nnewi’s factories, has had the most turbulent governorship history of any Nigerian state. Since 1999 it has had seven governors, three of whom took office because of court judgments. It became the first state to vote off-cycle, and since 2006 it has been the stronghold of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the only state the party has governed.
1999: Mbadinuju
Chinwoke Mbadinuju, a former university lecturer in the United States and presidential aide, won the January 1999 election for the PDP with 879,690 votes against 141,326 for ABC Nwosu of the All People’s Party. His term was marked by unpaid salaries, school closures and the rise of the Bakassi Boys vigilantes, and the PDP refused him a second ticket in 2003.
2003 to 2006: Ngige, the godfather and the court
The PDP gave its 2003 ticket to Chris Ngige, a medical doctor backed by the businessman Chris Uba, who boasted of being his political godfather. INEC declared Ngige the winner with 452,820 votes, ahead of APGA’s Peter Obi. Within weeks the two men fell out: in July 2003 Uba’s allies tried to remove Ngige with a fabricated resignation letter and a brief abduction by police officers, and parts of Awka were later burned. Obi challenged the election, and on 15 March 2006 the Court of Appeal ruled that he had won. He was sworn in two days later.
2006 and 2007: impeachment, Etiaba and seventeen days
In November 2006 the state assembly impeached Obi, and his deputy, Virginia Etiaba, became Nigeria’s first female governor. The courts reversed the impeachment, and Etiaba handed power back in February 2007.
INEC nonetheless held a governorship election in April 2007, which the PDP’s Andy Uba, a former presidential aide and brother of Chris Uba, won with 1,093,004 votes. He was sworn in on 29 May 2007. On 14 June 2007 the Supreme Court ruled that Obi’s four-year term ran from March 2006 and had not expired; Uba’s election was void, and he left office after about two weeks.
2010: Obi’s second term
Obi was re-elected on 6 February 2010 with 97,843 votes, beating Ngige, now of the Action Congress of Nigeria, who polled 60,240. Turnout was only about 16%.
2013 and 2017: Obiano
Obi’s chosen successor, the banker Willie Obiano, won APGA’s ticket and, after a supplementary vote, the November 2013 election with 180,178 votes against 97,700 for the PDP’s Tony Nwoye. Obi himself later joined the PDP. Obiano was re-elected on 18 November 2017 with 234,071 votes, winning all 21 local governments, against 98,752 for Nwoye, now in the APC.
2021 and 2025: Soludo
Former Central Bank governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo held the state for APGA on 6 November 2021, after a pre-election season so full of court cases that INEC appealed to the Nigerian Bar Association. He polled 112,229 votes against 53,807 for the PDP’s Valentine Ozigbo and 43,285 for the APC’s Andy Uba, on a turnout of about 10%, held down by insecurity and separatist stay-at-home orders.
On 8 November 2025 Soludo won a second term with 422,664 votes, about 72% of the total, carrying all 21 local governments.
The results at a glance
| Year | Winner (party) | Votes | Runner-up (party) | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Chinwoke Mbadinuju (PDP) | 879,690 | ABC Nwosu (APP) | 141,326 |
| 2003 | Chris Ngige (PDP); overturned for Peter Obi in 2006 | 452,820 | Peter Obi (APGA) | not published |
| 2007 | Andy Uba (PDP); voided by the Supreme Court | 1,093,004 | Virginia Etiaba (APGA) | 71,296 |
| 2010 | Peter Obi (APGA) | 97,843 | Chris Ngige (ACN) | 60,240 |
| 2013 | Willie Obiano (APGA) | 180,178 | Tony Nwoye (PDP) | 97,700 |
| 2017 | Willie Obiano (APGA) | 234,071 | Tony Nwoye (APC) | 98,752 |
| 2021 | Charles Soludo (APGA) | 112,229 | Valentine Ozigbo (PDP) | 53,807 |
| 2025 | Charles Soludo (APGA) | 422,664 | Nicholas Ukachukwu (APC) | 99,445 |
What comes next
Anambra does not vote for governor in the February 2027 general elections. Soludo’s second term runs to March 2030, and the next governorship election is due in late 2029.
