Anambra people have spoken – Soludo

From Aloysius Attah, Onitsha

Governor Chukwuma Soludo has described his victory at yesterday’s governorship election in Anambar State as the confirmation of the people’ choice.

He spoke after he was declared winner by the INEC Returning Officer, Prof. Edoba Omoregie, Vice Chancellor, University of Benin, who stated that the Governor polled 422,664 votes to defeat his closest rival, Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored 99,445 votes.

Soludo expressed appreciation to President 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 percent of the results from polling units had been 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 percent of registered voters came out and you re-elected us with 73 percent 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.