By Abiola Olawale
Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra has delivered his acceptance speech after being officially declared the winner of the Anambra governorship election.
Soludo, who contested the just-concluded election under the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), said his victory is a testament to the popular support for his administration’s “Solution Agenda.”
In his address from his country home in Isuofia, Aguata Local Government Area of the state, the Governor extended gratitude to the people of Anambra, describing the election outcome as a mandate to continue the work his administration started three years ago.
He said: “Now that the people have spoken, let us get back to work.
“Even last night, as the collation was going on, I was even making calls. I spoke to the Commissioner for Budget, talking about the budget outlines I want to start discussing.
“I am back in the office. It is a 24/7 assignment, and we can’t wait. ‘Ndi’ Anambra cannot wait.
“The job to be done is still a lot; it is an assignment with a deadline. May Anambra continue to win, may Nigeria continue to win,” he added.
The former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor reiterated his administration’s commitment to serving the people of the state better.
He commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the conduct of the election, which he described as free, fair, and credible.
The governor particularly commended the electoral body’s information and communication technology unit, saying more than 90 per cent of the results were downloaded by midnight on Saturday on INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
To him, the situation has shown that Nigeria’s democracy is improving.
“I think the election was resoundingly free, fair, and transparent, and I’m sure very credible. May this be a foretaste of better things to continue to happen in our electoral system.
“Let me particularly appreciate the ICT department of INEC. By about midnight, they had uploaded more than 99 per cent of the results from the polling units on the iREV, which is quite unprecedented.
“I want to particularly single that out for commendation because everybody was downloading the result in real time and compiling. By midnight, we already knew where this result was headed.
“INEC, kudos to you. May Anambra continue to win, it’s a foundation to our electoral system,” he stated.
The New Diplomat reports that the Returning Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Anambra Prof. Edoba Omoregie, had declared that Soludo won all the 21 local government areas of the State.
Announcing the results at the INEC headquarters in Awka on Sunday, Omoregie said: “The number of registered voters was 2,788,864, while accredited voters were 598,229. The total valid votes stood at 584,054, rejected votes were 11,244, and the total votes cast amounted to 595,298.
“After collating the results as tallied into Form EC8E, it is now my privilege to declare the figures each candidate scored according to their political parties.
“There were a few areas affected by incidents, leading to cancellations in some wards across Anambra West, Anaocha, Awka South, and Onitsha South LGAs, amounting to 10,481 affected votes. However, the margin of lead between the top candidates did not affect the overall outcome of the election.
“I, Prof. Edoba Omoregie, Returning Officer for the 2025 Anambra State Governorship Election, hereby declare that the election was peaceful. Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, having scored 422,664 votes — the highest number of valid votes cast and having satisfied the requirements of the law — is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”
