Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, who also doubles as the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo has eventually been declared winner of the Anambra Governorship Election by the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC).
The Returning Officer in the Governorship Election, Prof. Florence Obi announced the result on Wednesday morning at the INEC office, in Awka, Anambra State.
‘’That Charles Chuwuma Soludo of APGA, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected’’, pronounced the VC of the University of Calabar.
61-year old Soludo won with 112,229 votes to beat Valentine Ozigbo of the PDP, who polled 53,807 votes while Andy Uba of the All Progressives Congress(APC), got 43,285 votes. Ifeanyi Ubah of the Young Progressives Party who polled 21,261 votes came fourth.
Recall, that Soludo victory was not without brick wall challenges including legal battles and intra-party squabbles. However, the supreme court of Nigeria in Abuja affirmed the APGA Governorship candidate after ruling against a former APGA candidate Chukwuma Umeoji by the court.
Also in April 2021, during the build-up to the election, Soludo escaped death by the whiskers when gunmen attacked him and his security aides during a town hall meeting in his hometown, Isuofia in the Aguala Local Government Area of Anambra State.
During the attack, three of Soludo’s police orderlies were killed.
Soludo, in his acceptance speech, dedicated his victory to the three policemen who lost their lives during the town hall meeting.
The newly elected governor of Anambra State, Charles Soludo is expected to be sworn-in, in March 2021 after the expiration of the tenure of the current governor Willie Obiano of the APGA