Soludo: My victory an emphatic statement — Anambra spoke loudly

Chukwuma Soludo, governor of Anambra, says the electorate spoke loudly during the gubernatorial election of November 8. 

He added that the poll was “history made” and “a shattering of another glass ceiling”.

On Sunday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Soludo winner of the election with 422,664 votes; while Nicholas Ukachukwu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, polled second with 99,445 votes.

Paul Chukwuma of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) placed third with 37,753 votes, while George Moghalu of the Labour Party (LP) had 10,576 votes in fourth place.

Speaking after he was returned elected, Soludo said the exercise was a demonstration of the people’s will in a competitive political environment.

“We are in a true multi-party democracy. Democracy lets votes count. We spoke loudly here in Anambra,” he said.

Reflecting on voter turnout, Soludo said about 22 percent of registered voters participated, breaking previous records and signalling increased political engagement in the state.

He expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for his role in “guaranteeing free, fair, and transparent elections”, describing the nation’s leader as a “very true democrat”.

Soludo also commended INEC and its chairman Joash Amupitan for their “effective management” of the electoral process.

“This is your very first outing as INEC chairman. As the saying goes, you don’t have a second chance to create a first impression, and I am very excited that your first impression is very emphatic,” he added.

The governor reaffirmed his commitment to working with all stakeholders — including religious, traditional, and community leaders, as well as businesspeople — to deliver on the mandate handed him for another four years.

“We applied for this job. You employed us four years ago. What I can say, as we stated throughout the campaign, is that you have not seen anything yet,” he said.

“Like the Americans would say, ‘you ain’t seen nothing yet’.

“You are very emphatic by re-electing a governor, yours sincerely and my deputy Onyeka Ibezim with 73 percent of votes cast. We’re really humbled.

“I want to say it again and again loudly with this trust, in partnership with all our stakeholders, in partnership with you Ndi Anambra.”