The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the total number of votes secured by actress Chioma Ifemeludike, the African Action Congress (AAC) governorship candidate in the just-concluded Anambra State governorship election.
According to the INEC Returning Officer, Edoba Omoregie, Ms Ifemeludike, an actress and filmmaker, garnered 292 votes across the state’s 21 local government areas.
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PREMIUM TIMES reported that INEC declared Governor Charles Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) the election winner.
Mr Omoregie announced that Mr Soludo scored 422,664 votes to defeat his closest rival, Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 99,445 votes.
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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.
This newspaper earlier reported that 36-year-old Ms Ifemeludike raised the alarm on Saturday over widespread vote-buying in a video and a series of posts on her Instagram page.
She alleged that some voters, particularly older people, were selling their votes for as little as N3,000 to N5,000.
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She wrote: “I just got a report from my polling unit search light that vote buying is heavily happening across polling units in the Anambra state Governorship elections.
“I call on security agencies and INEC to get these party agents paying voters #5,000 for their conscience. This very act is destroying our society, and it is totally unacceptable!”
APGA
Ms Ifemeludike specifically alleged that the ruling APGA engaged in vote-buying.
She described these actions as criminal, utterly absurd, and downright nonsensical.
“If APGA claims to be very popular, why are they buying votes? Criminalising and polluting the polity, wasting our resources rather than channelling them to environmental and human development.
“Paying our old men and women to carry out the civil responsibility they owe themselves and their future, taking advantage of their vulnerability and ignorance, is outrightly evil. There was a country”, said the actress-turned-politician.
No election
She further alleged that there was no genuine election in the state, describing it as a mere exercise in vote buying.
She said, “What is happening now? There’s no election. There are practical transactions going on. They write your name, and then you proceed to another section where people meet. When you look around, these people go through physical hardship—you can almost touch it.
“These women, these elders, are selling their votes as little as ₦3,000, ₦5,000. And it’s well supervised by people who are public agents. They have sections and people all over the place. It’s a cooperative transaction happening here. I saw it. It’s appalling.”
She further stated that vote buying criminalises both voters and politicians, undermines accountability in governance, and tarnishes the reputation of those in leadership.
Ms Ifemeludike noted, “At this point, I don’t think it’s safe for anyone in opposition here. It’s highly dominated by transactional elements. This is wicked. This is unacceptable.
“This practice must be proscribed and eradicated for true and patriotic leaders to pave the way for the needed change we seek in our society. I call on INEC Nigeria and the Nigerian Police Force to arrest any individual or group.”
This newspaper earlier reported that the Anambra Election Observation Hub, a coalition of civil society organisations monitoring the state’s 2025 governorship election, raised concerns over widespread vote buying, low voter turnout, and persistent logistical challenges.
The hub, which includes Yiaga Africa, The Kukah Centre, International Press Centre (IPC), Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), Nigeria Women Trust Fund (NWTF), ElectHER, and TAF Africa, deployed 711 observers across the state’s 21 local government areas.
It noted that the financial inducement of voters and procedural inconsistencies continue to undermine the election’s credibility.
READ ALSO: #AnambraDecides2025: Soludo speaks on victory, hails Tinubu, INEC
Ms Ifemeludike, the creative force behind the YouTube drama series, Corpers Heaven, began her political journey at Anambra State University, where she studied Political Science.
As a student, she was an active female unionist and served as the chairperson of the AAC.
She is also known for movies such as “Painful Truth”, “Commissioner for Happiness”, “Mortuary Gate” and “Plantain Girl.”
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