On Sunday, Governor Chukwuma Soludo was declared the winner of the November 8 gubernatorial election in Anambra State by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
As reported by DAILY POST, the Returning Officer, who is the Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin, Prof. Edogah Omoregie, made the announcement at the commission’s headquarters in Awka on Sunday.
Soludo, running on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), secured the victory with 422,664 votes.
His closest challenger, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), came in second with 99,445 votes.
INEC’s tally showed that the Young Progressives Party (YPP) candidate, Paul Chukwuma, received 37,753 votes.
Meanwhile, George Moghalu, the Labour Party (LP) candidate, obtained 10,576 votes, and John Nwosu, representing the coalition-backed African Democratic Congress (ADC), garnered 8,208 votes.
DAILY POST noted that few were surprised when INEC confirmed Soludo as the winner of the Anambra State governorship election.
The triumph highlighted Soludo’s political strength and the significant lack of cohesion among the opposing parties.
Beneath the final numbers lay a common theme in Nigerian political contests: opposition parties were fragmented by infighting and rivalry, which ultimately cost them success at the polls.
Labour Party’s Internal Conflict
The Labour Party, despite the momentum it gained from the 2023 general elections, entered the Anambra governorship race severely divided. Rival factions supporting different national leaders presented conflicting candidates, each asserting their validity. One group backed a lesser-known contender from the pro-Abure faction, while another camp supported a former federal legislator.
This confusion over the legitimate candidate caused many of the party’s followers to become uninterested in voting. By the time legal action was finalized, valuable campaign time was lost, and resources were spent on legal battles instead of mobilization efforts.
In several local government areas, LP supporters admitted they were uncertain who the party’s true representative was.
A resident of Nnewi South commented, “We were ready to vote Labour, but no one even came here to campaign.”
He added, “They were busy fighting among themselves while Soludo was actively governing.”
PDP’s Leadership Struggles and Departures
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) continues to suffer losses due to the prolonged leadership crisis that has plagued it since the aftermath of the 2023 general election.
The party, once a powerhouse, is now weakened by defections, persistent internal disputes, and declining public trust.
DAILY POST recalled that the PDP faced a challenge when aspirants failed to purchase the party’s nomination forms before the Anambra election.
The PDP had initially scheduled the sale of forms between February 24 and March 5, with a submission deadline of March 7.
This situation arose because many aspirants retracted their plans to buy forms due to the ongoing leadership crisis within the party, particularly at the national level.
Ultimately, the party settled on Chief Jude Ezenwafor, a real estate developer based in Abuja, as its standard-bearer for the state governorship election.
Ezenwafor, who was the only aspirant in the PDP contest, was unanimously approved by 853 delegates from the 21 local government chapters of the party in the state.
He was the sole individual to purchase the party’s N40 million nomination form.
Allegations of Vote Buying
There were also reports that the election process was marred by irregularities, particularly claims of widespread vote buying.
Despite multiple warnings from INEC and law enforcement, several party leaders and candidates alleged that votes were being purchased in polling units across the state.
It was alleged that some party agents offered electors between N20,000 and N30,000 to vote for their respective candidates.
Voters in areas around Awka South claimed that APGA gave them N5,000, while the APC offered as much as N10,000 to influence their votes.
During an appearance on Channels TV’s Sunday Politics, Labour Party candidate George Moghalu attributed his defeat in his polling unit to the vote-buying activities of some opponents.
Moghalu specifically accused the incumbent ruling party in Anambra, APGA, of being the primary perpetrator of the alleged vote-buying.
He claimed that several party agents, some of whom were reportedly arrested for vote-buying, were observed wearing APGA party insignia.
Moghalu stated he could not afford to match the amounts of money other candidates were offering voters, and consequently, he refused to participate in vote-buying.
He added that many voters in his polling unit yielded to the monetary temptation due to their financial hardship.
When asked if his loss in the polling unit was connected to vote-buying, Moghalu responded, “Yes, because I couldn’t afford how much that was being paid. I couldn’t pay, and I refused to pay, I refused to get involved.”
He continued, “So, they have too much money to buy votes, and what do you expect my people to do? They fell because a lot of them are poor.”
Moghalu also claimed, “Some of them are on record as having been seen purchasing votes. There’s even a commissioner who was also caught on camera buying votes in my particular constituency.”
Soludo’s Advantage of Incumbency and Strategy
While the opposition disintegrated, Soludo utilized his position as the sitting governor and his performance in office.
His campaign focused on noticeable infrastructure projects, educational reforms, and economic initiatives.
The governor also leveraged APGA’s established network, especially in rural areas where the party has had long-standing organizational structures.
On election day, APGA agents were dominant at polling units throughout the state, while the LP and PDP struggled to ensure adequate representation.
The outcome was anticipated: APGA secured all 21 local government areas within hours of the results’ compilation, leaving little chance for an upset.
INEC’s official count confirmed Soludo’s decisive victory, as opposition figures attributed their defeat to internal treachery and lack of unity.
Analyst Predicts Similar Results in 2027
Meanwhile, political commentators suggest the 2025 Anambra election should serve as a cautionary tale for opposition parties regarding future polls.
Nduka Odo, a public affairs analyst and communications specialist at Peaceland University, Enugu, stated that the election once again demonstrated the current state of opposition politics in the country.
In a Sunday discussion with DAILY POST, Odo warned that the opposition should anticipate a similar result in 2027 unless they resolve their internal issues and collaborate.
He said, “The result of the Anambra gubernatorial elections has proven again the state of opposition politics in the country.”
He acknowledged, “Kudos to the APGA team for taking up almost all the votes, in spite of the recorded evidence of vote buying during the election. Since Peter Obi, APGA remains strong in Anambra.”
Odo found the low performance of the PDP, LP, and ADC surprising, noting that the APC and YPP received higher vote counts than expected. He views this as a crucial lesson for those in opposition.
He cautioned, “They should expect a similar result in 2027. If they don’t put their houses in order and work together, the ruling party will have it all.”
Odo concluded by reminding the current opposition that the only way the opposition successfully removed the PDP from power was by forming a powerful coalition, now known as the APC, and that they need to learn from that model to achieve success.
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