Anambra: Soludo’s Battle for a Second Term

The off-season governorship election in Anambra State has passed. Not only that, but the election turned out to be one of the easiest in the state’s history for the governorship; many had already projected Soludo’s victory well in advance of the election.

Nearly two years ago, preparations for the State Governorship Election began with growing resistance, initially from the late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah and later from other opposition leaders who repeatedly mouthed the phrase “remove Soludo.”

Opposition politicians persisted in their desire to remove Soludo despite efforts that were enthusiastically praised by both high-profile and common people. They even used tragedies as campaign tactics.

It wasn’t a happy time for Soludo either, since the state was constantly in the headlines for the wrong reason due to the insecurity that had afflicted it.

For instance, while Soludo was working on ground-breaking projects, such as building roads in areas of the state where none had previously existed, revitalizing primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare facilities, and reintroducing pipe-borne water, reckless incidents, such as the murder of a state indigenous person by renegades, the abuse of locals by local security, or even an altercation between tax collectors and an individual, were escalated to discredit the governor.
Unfortunately for Soludo, he took office as governor during a period when criminals disguising themselves as freedom fighters had exploited the compassion of people to gain support for themselves, causing havoc and annexing areas of the state. Early this year, Soludo introduced the new Anambra Homeland Security Law after realizing that the hoodlums’ actions were hurting his efforts in the state. He then established Agunechemba and a joint military operation called Udogachi.

One could argue that the governor is fully aware of when and how to launch a strike. Although many Anambra people applauded him for solving the crime and saving many villages from the clutches of murderers, his opponents were not satisfied despite the fact that the actions of criminals disguising themselves as separatists preceded his term. Every unpleasant episode increased and became a national problem, but fortunately for the governor, the Anambra people remained loyal to him after realizing the difference between his abilities and those of others.

Even though Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, his main opponent, passed away later, others persisted in calling him a one-term governor. However, Soludo persisted in his job and maintained his focus, stating that “mine is an agenda with a deadline.” The Anambra people recruited me after I submitted a bid. He would always say, “Only they can renew my employment.” Combining his campaign with his responsibilities at the office, Soludo insisted that his job should never suffer because he was running for reelection.

During the election, Soludo faced challenges from 15 different parties, religious groups, and zonal backgrounds; yet, he maintained his religion, joggling work, and campaign. Soludo continued to be the only contender to make campaign visits to each of the state’s 179 municipalities. Even more fascinating was the fact that the indigenous people in each place he visited were quick to praise him and highlight the significant accomplishments he completed for them. When communities started giving Soludo money to support his election, his acceptability became evident. Citing his ability to rule, every community he visited gave tens of millions of dollars to support his reelection. This was not like what was often possible, where communities wait for politicians to give them money in order to buy their support.

As anticipated, the Anambra people loudly voiced their support for Soludo during last Saturday’s election. When announcing the election’s outcome, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was adamant. Professor Edoba B. Omoregie (SAN), the state collation officer and vice chancellor of the University of Benin, declared the election’s official results. “There are 2,788,864 registered voters in the state, and there are 598,229 accredited voters for the election that was held on Saturday,” he stated.

Omoregie declared that Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, an APGA candidate, had the highest election score of 422,664. Three of his rivals, Ukachukwu of the APC (99,445), Paul Chukwuma of the YPP (37,753), Moghalu of the LP (10,576), and Nwosu of the ADC (8,208), trailed far behind Soludo’s total, which accounted for 73% of all votes cast. After calculating the data, Omoregie claimed that 10,481 total voters were impacted in regions where there were skirmishes. However, he added that the numbers did not match the number of votes between the front-runner and the runner-up, stating that the margin had no bearing on the winner.

“I hereby certify that I am the returning officer of the election, and I also certify that the election was contested and a winner emerged,” Omoregie declared, announcing Soludo’s reelection. I certify that Soludo Charles Chukwuma has been elected after meeting the legal requirements and receiving the most votes. I should also mention that the victor received the necessary votes in two thirds of the local government. The candidate received a two-thirds mark in each of the state’s twenty-one local government districts.

Since Soludo has acknowledged his victory and offered support to the other candidates who ran against him on Saturday, the election is already a given. Additionally, the governor commended President Bola Tinubu as a democrat for letting the people’s will triumph out. In the border town of Owerre Ezukala, he also grieved for one of his followers, a councillor who was shot and killed just after casting his ballot.

“This is a moment to say congratulations to Anambra People,” the governor stated to reporters at his rural home in Isuofia, Aguata Local Government Area. We were elected with 112,000 votes four years ago, but this time you made a big impression with 73% of the total votes. This is a strong statement and an act of unity. We won all 21 local governments and only lost six of the 326 wards, which is a pretty clear signal. We are moving forward to gear four in collaboration with individuals at all levels of the state. In a sense, we are in gear three, and we are transitioning to gear four. We are grateful to the Anambra people for keeping us on. We are grateful that Mr. President has shown himself to be an excellent democrat. I thank the new chairman of INEC. As they say, you don’t get another chance to make an impression, and this election has demonstrated that. It was his first time out. In Anambra, every election year becomes better and better.

“I believe the election was extremely free, fair, and credible, with a few exceptions. I am grateful to INEC’s ICT department since, as of last night, they had posted up to 99 percent of the results, so we already knew the outcome of the poll. I tell my brothers, who were also competitors, that since we were all sixteen, there will only be one winner. Even though we’ve had fun and gotten into arguments, we’ll still get together on the weekends to share drinks the Anambra way. I offer you a leadership position, and together we will improve Anambra. In my opinion, we shall work tirelessly for the Anambra people. There is a deadline for our assignment.

Many have said that Soludo’s victory was well-deserved and that he performed well both throughout his campaign and in his first term. “This victory is quite deserving,” declared Sly Ezeokenwa, national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). The governor put up a lot of effort, going to every village to solicit votes. We weren’t caught off guard,” he remarked.