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Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra has described Saturday’s governorship election as the best organised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state so far.
Mr Soludo said this during his victory speech in Awka on Sunday after being declared the winner of Saturday’s governorship election by INEC.
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PREMIUM TIMES reports that Mr Soludo was declared the winner of the election on Sunday morning by the INEC Returning Officer, Edoba Omoregie.
Mr Omoregie, a professor and vice-chancellor of the University of Benin, announced the result at INEC’s headquarters in Awka. He said Mr Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) won with 422,664 votes to defeat his closest rival, Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored 99,445 votes.
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Mr Soludo also won in each of the 21 local government areas in the state.
In his victory speech, Mr Soludo expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu, describing him as a “true democrat” who demonstrated commitment to ensuring a free and fair election in Anambra.
“The people have spoken, and their votes counted. I thank INEC, especially the new Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan. I’m excited that your first impression was an emphatic one, as INEC delivered.
“Since 2017, when INEC started experimenting with technology, every election in Anambra has been getting better and better.
“This is the best election INEC has organised in Anambra so far,” Mr Soludo said.
He commended INEC’s ICT department for ensuring transparency through the real-time upload of results on the IReV portal.
“As at midnight, over 99 per cent of results from polling units were uploaded on the IReV portal and everybody could download the results in real-time,” he said.
The governor also congratulated his fellow contestants, saying politics in Anambra should remain a contest of ideas, not enmity.
“Sixteen of us were on the ballot, and obviously, one person will win. In the Anambra way, we fight like there will be no tomorrow, but afterwards, we meet and celebrate.
“I extend a hand of fellowship to all of you, as I’m prepared to work with everyone for the greater good of our dear state,” he added.
Mr Soludo dedicated his victory to the people of Anambra, describing it as a historic mandate.
“This victory is for the people of Anambra. Four years ago, when BVAS was first used, we had a low voter turnout, and you elected us with 112,000 votes.
“This time, you spoke loudly. For the first time in our history, voter participation broke the 20 per cent ceiling as 22 per cent of registered voters came out, and you re-elected us with 73 per cent of total votes.
“I’m humbled by this show of solidarity. We applied for the job, you employed us, and with this renewed trust and partnership, we will move into high gear to deliver more for the good of Anambra.
“Now that the people have spoken, let’s get to work, you ain’t seen anything yet,” he said.
The Victory
Mr Omoregie said Mr Soludo scored 422,664 votes to defeat Mr Ukachukwu, who polled 99,445 votes.
He said the Young Progressives Party candidate, Paul Chukwuma, came third with 37,753 votes while his counterpart from the Labour Party, George Moghalu, claimed the fourth position in the election with 10,576 votes.
“That Soludo Charles Chukwuma of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, having satisfied all the requirements of law and scored the highest number of votes in this election, is hereby declared winner and is returned elected,” the returning officer declared.
Mr Omoregie said a total of 2,788,864 voters registered for the election, but only 598,229 of them were accredited during Saturday’s poll.
The official said a total of 584,054 valid votes were recorded in the poll, while 11,244 votes were voided out of the 595,298 total votes cast.
Mr Soludo’s victory in each of the 21 local government areas is the second time an individual has won in all 21 local government areas during a governorship election in Anambra State.
The immediate past governor of the South-eastern state, Willie Obiano, was the first to achieve the feat in 2017 when he was reelected under the APGA platform.
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that Saturday’s governorship election was considered a two-horse race between Mr Soludo and his APC challenger, Mr Ukachukwu.
The Election
Sixteen candidates from various political parties participated in the poll on Saturday.
During the governorship election, there were widespread reports of vote buying across various polling units in Anambra State.
READ ALSO: #AnambraDecides2025: It’s Official: INEC declares Soludo winner of governorship poll
Beyond the reported cases of vote buying, the BVAS machines malfunctioned in some polling units.
The exercise has been largely peaceful, despite some malpractices and glitches.
Mr Soludo was first elected as the governor of Anambra on 6 November 2021 and sworn in on 17 March 2022.
His first four-year tenure as governor will end in March 2026.
If the courts do not nullify Saturday’s governorship election, the governor will be inaugurated for a second and final term in office on 17 March 2026
