Soludo Dusts Rivals, Wins Anambra Governorship Contest

In News
November 10, 2021
Tony Iyare
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…Clinches Victory in 19 LGAs, Scores 25% in All 21 LGAs Candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo has emerged winner of the Anambra gubernatorial election. The Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) which declared him winner, says the former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, overwhelmingly dusted his three main rivals and

…Clinches Victory in 19 LGAs, Scores 25% in All 21 LGAs

Candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo has emerged winner of the Anambra gubernatorial election. The Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) which declared him winner, says the former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, overwhelmingly dusted his three main rivals and other 12 candidates to clinch victory.

Vice Chancellor, University of Calabar (UNICAL) and Returning Officer, Anambra governorship election, Prof Florence Obi, announced Soludo as the Governor-Elect at exactly 1:51 am Wednesday morning.

The former CBN Governor polled 112,229 votes to win the contest. His closest rival, Mr. Valentine Ozigbo of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, came second with 53,807 votes, while the candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, Andy Uba came third with 43,285. Senator Ifeanyi Uba of the Youths Progressive Party, YPP, also came fourth with a total score of 21, 261 votes. Total votes garnered by the other 12 candidates who did not make any appreciable showing in the contest, was a paltry 10,941.

APGA scored the most votes in the Ihiala Local Government supplementary election that held on Tuesday.

Recall that voting was extended by INEC to Tuesday to allow voting take place in Ihiala LGA, which was the only local government left. While APGA gathered 8,283 votes, PDP came second with 2,485 votes, while APC got 343 votes.

Soludo won in 19 local government areas of the state and scored 25% in all the 21 local government areas of the state leaving the candidates of the PDP and YPP with one LGA apiece.

Anambra has a total of 2,466,638 registered voters, while 253,388 were accredited for the election.

According to Prof Obi, Soludo of APGA won 112, 229 votes of the total 241523 valid votes cast in the polls. Of this, however, rejected votes was 8,108.

The supplementary election held in Ihiala local government area on Tuesday was also won by Soludo who polled 8,283 votes, while Ozigbo polled 2,485 votes.
Senator Andy Uba of APC who failed to win any LGAs, scored a mere 343 votes in the local government.

The collation officer for Ihiala, Dr. Jarma Anagbogu of the University of Calabar, UNICAL, who announced the result from Ihiala LGA, said there was no election in Orsumoghu and Lilu communities because of security challenges.

Anagbogu said: “In the process of the election, we received report that there was resistance in Orsumoghu and Lilu.

“INEC had deployed staff to the communities, but they could not enter.”

The heightening of security challenge and the failure of the newly introduced
Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), have been fingered for the low voters turnout in the election, which is put at 10 per cent, although Yiaga Africa says this has been a recurring decimal in the series of elections conducted in the state.

CLEEN Foundation which praised INEC and the security agencies for the conduct of the election, has however called for a dialogue between INEC, traditional and religious leaders to drive up campaign on this issue in the various communities.

“For future elections in Anambra state and given the persistent low voter turnout which is fast becoming a historical pattern with the state, we urge INEC to embark on high-level dialogues with key stakeholders including traditional and religious leaders to encourage the electorate to come out enmasse to cast their votes,” the organization says.

Soludo, a former CBN governor, was born on July 28, 1960, and hails from Isuofia, Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State.

He obtained a First Class degree in Economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, and worked as consultant in many national and international organizations including the World Bank and the United Nations Economic Commission for West Africa and the International Monetary Fund, IMF.

Soludo was also the economic adviser to former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the chief executive officer of the National Planning Commission among other achievements.

Other runners up are:

A 2054 – Maduka Godwin O.
AA 83 – Etiaba Bennett C.
AAC 588 – Nwankwo Wilson C.
ADC 324 – Akachukwu Sullivan Nwnkpo.
APP 773 – Umezekom Chuks Douglas
APM 301 – Onyejegbu Godfrey Okwudili
APP 139 – Azubuike Echetebu
PP 186 – Chika Jerry Okeke
LP 2802 – Agbasimelo Obiorah Emmanuel
NNPP 117 – Ohajikpo Leonard Emeka
NRM 213 – Ezenwafo Afaefuna Victor
PRP 437 – Nnamdi Nwafor
SDP 842 – Uzor Obiina Chukwudum Godwin
ZLP 2082 – Okonkwo Obiorah Francis

Figures for the different parties as declared by the INEC :

(1) Dunukofia LGA
APC 1991
APGA 4124
PDP 1680
YPP 1360

(2) Awka South LGA
APC 2595
APGA 12,891
PDP 5498
YPP 919

(3) Oyi LGA
APC 2830
APGA 6133
PDP 2484
YPP 900

(4) Ayamelum LGA
APC 2409
APGA 3424
PDP 2804
YPP 407

(5) Anaocha LGA
APC 2085
APGA 6911
PDP 5108
YPP 868

(6) Anambra East LGA
APC 2034
APGA 9747
PDP 1380
YPP 559

(7) Idemili South LGA
APC 1039
APGA 2312
PDP 2016
YPP 752

(8) Onitsha South LGA
APC 2050
APGA 4281
PDP 2253
YPP 271

(9) Njikoka LGA
APC 3216
APGA 8803
PDP 3409
YPP 924

(10) Nnewi North LGA
APC 1278
APGA 3369
PDP 1511
YPP 6485

(11) Orumba South LGA
APC 2060
APGA 4394
PDP 1672
YPP 887