The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) winner of the November 8 Anambra State governorship election, securing a second term in office after a landslide victory across the 21 local government areas.
Announcing the results at INEC headquarters in Awka on Sunday, the Returning Officer and Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin, Prof. Edoba Omoregie (SAN), said Soludo polled 422,664 votes, far ahead of his closest challenger, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored 99,445 votes.
Candidates of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Paul Chukwuma, and the Labour Party (LP), George Moghalu, garnered 37,753 and 10,576 votes respectively, while John Nwosu of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) followed with 8,208 votes.
In total, 27,888,64 voters were registered for the election, with 598,229 accredited to vote. 595,298 ballots were cast, of which 584,054 were valid and 11,244 rejected.
Declaring the result, Prof. Omoregie stated:
“As the Returning Officer for this election, I hereby declare that Soludo Charles Chukwuma of APGA, having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of valid votes, is hereby declared winner and returned elected.”
APGA’s National Chairman, Barr. Sylvester Ezeokenwa, who served as the party’s chief agent, lauded the outcome, describing it as “a true reflection of the will of the Anambra people.” He praised INEC officials for what he called a “largely credible and transparent” process, despite minor technical hitches with BVAS in some polling units.
“Our agents across the state performed excellently. We trained them to uphold the values of transparency, and they delivered,” Ezeokenwa said.
He admitted that voter turnout was relatively low but consistent with Anambra’s voting pattern in past elections.
“Historically, the state records about 20 percent turnout, and this year wasn’t different. But the enthusiasm among those who voted was commendable,” he added.
Governor Soludo’s re-election consolidates APGA’s political dominance in Anambra since 2006 and sets the stage for the continuation of his administration’s “Solution Agenda” focused on infrastructure, education, and youth development.
