- Former CBN Governor Reacts
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Friday has released the list of the candidates for the Anambra governorship election scheduled to hold on November 6.
However, the electoral umpire failed to recognise former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN), Prof Chukwuma Charles Soludo, as the flagbearer of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
INEC rather declared a sitting member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Chukwuma Michael Umeoji, as the flagbearer of the party in the upcoming November 6 Anambra State governorship election.
INEC also named Senator Andy Uba, who won the controversial primaries of All progressives Congress (APC), as the candidate of the party for the November election.
This was contained in the list of candidates for the Anambra State governorship election published by the commission and signed by INEC national commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Festus Okoye, on Friday in Abuja.
The electoral umpire also dropped the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Valentine Ozigbo, leaving the main opposition party’s slot blank.
According to the list, all the 18 registered political parties would participate in the November poll which has 15 male candidates and two female candidates.
Meanwhile, Soludo, in his reaction has insisted that he remains the authentic candidate of APGA for the November 6 polls, saying that the exclusion of his by INEC was only based on a court order.
Soludo in a statement by his media aide, Joe Anatune, stated that he remains confident that the court order which INEC acted upon will be overturned.
The statement reads, “The Chukwuma Soludo Campaign has been briefed on a publication by the Independent National Electoral Commission where Honourable Chukwuma Umeorji has been published as the candidate of the APGA in the November 6, 2021, gubernatorial election in Anambra State.
“The INEC publication is based on a judgment by a High Court in Jigawa State, and the electoral body sensibly wrote that its inclusion of Umeorji as a candidate in the election is “By Judgment”.
“Our millions of supporters in Anambra State and elsewhere in the world are advised not to be dispirited by the publication seriously.
“Prof Chukwuma Charles Soludo will participate in the governorship election as the APGA candidate. His nomination was strictly in line with the Electoral Law and INEC guidelines. INEC observed the APGA Congress on Wednesday, June 23, 2021, where he was nominated after winning 93.4 per cent of the valid votes cast in a free, fair and transparent manner which was broadcasted live on national television networks as part of deepening the democratic process in Nigeria.
“Our team of dedicated and competent legal experts has studied the judgment and is confident of overturning it effortlessly. The party is at liberty to nominate the right candidate so long as due process is followed. Soludo’s nomination followed due process religiously.”
“Our supporters and indeed all Anambra people, who have been waiting patiently for Soludo’s leadership of the state, are advised not to be deterred by the Jigawa State Court order.
“They should rather remain supremely confident of not only Soludo’s participation in the November 6 election but also his triumph in the polls with a big margin which will lead to a new era in our state for the benefit of all.”
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