Anambra Decides: With 99% of Results Uploaded, Soludo Poised for Anambra Re-election

With ninety-nine per cent of the results from the Anambra State governorship election now uploaded to the official portal, the incumbent governor and candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, appears be coasting home to secure a second term in office.

The Independent National Electoral Commission’s Results Viewing Portal shows a commanding lead for Mr Soludo over his closest rival, Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress, as the final collation of votes continues.

The election, which took place on Saturday across the state’s 21 local government areas, was largely peaceful but marred by significant accusations of vote-buying and a few isolated violent incidents, including the tragic killing of a local councillor. Despite a massive effort that saw a record 98.8 per cent of registered voters collect their Permanent Voter Cards, overall voter turnout was reported as relatively low in many areas.

The electoral process has been a clear two-horse race, with Mr Soludo’s APGA dominating in its traditional strongholds and maintaining a wide margin over the APC in early results from numerous polling units. A review of uploaded data from LGAs including Aguata, Ekwusigo, Njikoka, and Onitsha North and South shows a consistent pattern of APGA victory.

In his home polling unit of Umuezeadigo Street Polling Unit 002 in Isuofia, Aguata LGA, Professor Soludo won an overwhelming 417 votes, with his APC rival securing only four votes. However, in a show of the contest’s dynamic nature, the APC candidate, Mr Ukachukwu, also won his own polling unit at Polling Unit 12, Ward 2, in Osumenyi, Nnewi South LGA, where his party polled 234 votes against APGA’s 10 across two booths.

The Labour Party candidate, Dr George Moghalu, was defeated his own polling unit where he emerged runner-up to Governor Soludo. The results from countless other units tell a similar story, cementing APGA’s early advantage.

Despite the generally orderly conduct of the poll, the shadow of monetary inducement was rampard, with prominent figures decrying the practice.

The former state governor and Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, voiced his dismay after voting in Agulu.

“Vote-buying is on the scale of N20,000 to N30,000. The victims of bad governance are the ones fuelling it,” Mr Obi stated. “If a young man sells his vote for N30,000, what is his future? You are selling no school, no hospital, no job—selling your future.”

Governor Soludo himself, after casting his ballot around half past one in the afternoon, expressed confidence in a landslide victory but also pointed fingers, alleging vote-buying by opponents in Nnewi South. “It doesn’t matter for us. We are confident that with one man, one vote, we will win landslide,” he said.

The APC’s Mr Ukachukwu countered with his own allegations of “widespread vote-buying” and intimidation of his supporters, describing the development as a “dangerous norm” undermining democracy. “Vote-buying robs citizens of their right to choose credible leaders,” he asserted, though he remained optimistic, adding, “Winning is still possible. INEC is doing its best, and I believe in God’s will.”

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission confirmed these concerns were not merely rhetorical, announcing the arrest of three political party agents for alleged vote-buying in the local government areas of Njikoka, Oyi, and Dunukofia.

The EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, identified the suspects as Emeka Ilokasia, Nwachukwu Loretta, and Emuka Chuwudi, noting they would be charged upon the conclusion of investigations.

Tragedy, however, struck in Orumba South LGA, where a councillor representing the Owerre Ezukala community was shot dead by gunmen around half past one in the afternoon while attempting to vote.

Eyewitnesses reported that security operatives were nearby but were unable to prevent the attack. A community leader, Odogwu Odemenam, who confirmed the killing, pointed to security lapses. “The election was peaceful until this incident happened,” he said.

Tension also flared at the INEC secretariat in Ihiala, where policemen were reported to have fired teargas canisters, injuring a member of the National Youth Service Corps and an observer from Yiaga Africa.

Witnesses claimed the officers, allegedly under the influence of alcohol, began shooting tear gas without provocation. The state police spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed a scuffle but described it as a resolved “rift between observers and ad hoc staff.”

Amid these developments, was the human stories of the election. For some elderly voters, the journey to vote ended in frustration. At the Ezienwelu Polling Unit in Nimo, several older individuals could not be accredited as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System failed to recognise their faces, with officials attributing it to age-related facial changes rather than network failure.

A visibly distressed 96-year-old woman, Mrs Elizabeth Onike, wept at Umudim Akasi Polling Unit in Agulu after being told she could not vote for lack of a valid voter card. “I have always voted here. I voted in the last election. Now they say I have no valid card. I’m pained that I can’t vote for my next governor,” she lamented.

In stark contrast, the determination of others shone through. In Isuofia, a 74-year-old visually impaired trader, Pa Julius Nwafor, arrived early with his daughter to cast his vote. “As far as I am a Nigerian, I must vote to satisfy my conscience,” he stated.

Yet, for a segment of the youth, the day passed with indifference. In Awka, some young men were seen playing football near active polling units, a common sight that a resident, Chiosom Eneh, noted with resignation: “It happens every election. You’ll always see youths playing football instead of voting.”

Furthermore, many traders, particularly in the commercial city of Onitsha, defied the restriction of movement order to open their stalls. A vegetable seller, Mrs Grace Ezeh, explained the stark choice between civic duty and economic survival: “Elections may be important, but so is our livelihood.”