By the end of today ,a Governor – elect will be announced for Anambra State. Prof Chukwuma Soludo of All Progressive Grand Alliance( APGA) has won 18 out 20 Local Government Areas already declared by INEC . But before we start celebrating the winner , it is important to learn a good lesson from the recent history .The humility of Late President Musa Yaradua should be copied for a new beginning. Late Yaradua in his acceptance speech acknowledged that the election that brought him into office was flawed and that he would do everything to ensure that the electoral process was fixed . He commenced the process before the unexpected happened!
Back to Anambra state 2021 election. A political group – Good Governance Ministry started preparing the minds of the electorates early last year through weekly radio program at Odenigbo FM and BVI Channel 1 YouTube as well as other social media platforms. Millions of naira were spent in trying to change the mindset of a people who believed that Nigeria electoral process cannot be redeemed .Many a time ,the Leader of the group – Asuzu Chinedu Peters was called names and castigated for working for an unknown Politician against the interest of Biafrans who were determined to boycott any election conducted by the Nigerian State. Majority of the people following Good Governance Ministry radio program thought that the program was being sponsored by a political moneybag .It is hard to convince a people who have lost confidence with everything and everybody in a polluted system .However, Asuzu Chinedu message of good governance and public accountability was aggressively forced down the throat(s) of a people who have lost hope and waiting for a new nation – Biafra.
As a key Promoter of the group, I noticed that political parties were not interested in political education or making efforts to educate their party members of the essence of having a purposeful and visionary Leadership. I did not notice political education going on at the ward levels among political parties. They were all waiting for money to be shared for votes! Buying and selling politics! People were not mobilized along ideological line thereby giving room for a non state actors to hijack public opinion which nearly marred the election .
Politics is local and the local people are driven by certain interest. Interest for immediate gratification or future compensation or imaginary State of ‘Eldorado’ . Because of non existence of trust, local people hardly trust any politician, hence they resort to immediate gratification . But ,it should be noted that the presence of a personality like Prof Chukwuma Soludo gave some level of trust and credibility to the entire process. In some polling stations , a political party agent gave as high as N10,000 for a vote but was rejected for a lower monetary inducement because of preference for a credible candidate. In many other places , money became the determining factor of who wins! Party brand also played a role. There were people who believed that Ndi Anambra have rejected certain political party but with money, many accepted it and even voted for the party.
It ,therefore ,should be noted that a credible ,visionary and welfare driven Political Leadership is a solution to the dangerous trend of voters’ apathy and money politics .The incoming Governor should be humble enough to acknowledge the decay in our political system and take honest and immediate steps to fix our politics . Our political system at the state level is really broken and must be fixed without fear or favour. As President Obasanjo told his numerous supporters during his acceptance speech to consider any money donated during his campaign as a bad investment ,the incoming Governor must not work for political investors and jobbers but to the people who laid their lives in defence of Peoples mandate. Good Governance Ministry (GGM) will always be there to partner with people Government to modernize our society and give everybody a sense of belonging . GGM will continue to advocate for knowledgeable people with stable and known sources of income as well as people with integrity to be appointed into positions of authorities as well as electing men and women of integrity into political party system. Political education must be sustained by not only the political parties but INEC, and it should not be seasonal but on continuous basis.
Ndubuisi Anaenugwu is an Economist and the Deputy Leader of Good Governance Ministry.
I don’t know what to call it, political smartness or political 419? Whatever name it is called, Anambra politicians duped APC Governorship candidate in Anambra State – Sen Andy Ubah . That serves him right, he was desperate. He bragged that he has tentative budget of #11b for his campaign which circumstance may cause him to review to #25b.
He first announced that any elected official that will decamp to his party will get #50m and no one paid attention and he upped it to #100m. The offer became attractive. Any man with #100m of his own is a made man. Some politicians especially members of Anambra State House of Assembly consulted with the Governor and he advised them to play along with the money misroad, after all it could be Anambra South constituency project he diverted for 8 years that is at work. They were given the responsibility to checkmate Senator Andy Ubah especially as it concerns rigging. They decamped in drove. Their BODY howbeit temporarily is in APC while their soul is in APGA.
We are aware that Andy Ubah can never win a free and fair election in Anambra State. He stole Dr Ernest Ndukwe’s mandate to be at the Senate. Even at the Red Chambers, while others were lobbing for Chairmanship of Committees that will help them serve their constituents well, he lobbied for the position of Chairman of Senate Committee on INEC, so that he will continue to use his position to influence INEC to rig election for him.
The Governor of Anambra State H E Willie Obiano is Nigeria most underrated politician. He knows what to do at every point in time. When one door closes, he creates and opens another. He set up Andy Ubah with some so called APGA decampees and it worked like miracle.
Andy Ubah is a liar of class order, he lies for fun. He supervised the kidnap of Dr Chris Ngige in 2004 and claimed that he was the person that called the IG to reinstate former Gov Ngige as Governor after his kidnap. Just as he claimed that he made Soludo the Governor of the Central Bank as if he is President Obasanjo, he also claimed that the famous 21 over 21 of Willie Obiano’s second term victory of 2017 was his making. That is because APC did not give him ticket in 2017, he used federal might to make 21 over 21 possible… asị asị.
He has never won any election fair and square in Anambra State. He has never come clean and straight in anything. And he met a man in Soludo that gave him a mouthful in Anambra Governorship election debate. He met a prepared Soludo who was ready for him and used the same cup Andy used for others to measure for him. Soludo in his usual eloquent manner told him that there is violence and killing everywhere in Anambra because he (Andy) is in the race. It was not different from what Governor Obianọ said about politicians sponsoring bandits to create fear in the minds of the people.
Even as result of the election are turned in, Andy through his media Aids are claiming victory in an election he was distant third position. I may not have written this if Sen Ubah had conceeded defeat having received the results from his party local government agents throughout the state.
Anambra people know him. Dr Ngige said that it is a trust issue, that Andy is not marketable. Peter Obi said in a close circle that he even prefers Soludo to Andy Ubah, because Anambra money can not carry Sen Andy Ubah’s extravagant and squandermania lifestyle. That Sen Ubah has never entered commercial flight since 2003. It is always a chartered flight anywhere he goes.
I have to duff my hart for Anambra politicians, they ‘know wetin dey’. If you deserve respect, they give you. If you deserve ‘ chandum, egwugị ezigbote chandum’. Anambra politicians egwugo Andy Ubah wayo.
_It’s me Val Iwuchukwu drinking fresh palm wine inside inside Nza Ozubulu in celebration._
The governorship candidate of African Democratic Congress ADC Nze Akachukwu Nwankpo has thrown weight behind Prof Chukwuma Soludo, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance APGA. Nwankpo after consulting widely with his party ADC leadership, elected to support Soludo.
Nwankpo said “Today by 18.46 pm I and my wife Bar. Obiageli Nwankpo spoke with Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, the Gubernatorial Candidate of APGA. Congratulated him for a hard fought election and in fact conceded to him the title of the Next Governor of ANAMBRA State.”
He continued “My dear friend and brother, I have studied the trend of this election and seen clearly that the people of ANAMBRA State want you to lead a deep seated effort to reform and rebuild our State. ANAMBRA State must now become a State run on the basis of the will and desire of our people.”
“I add my voice in calling the people of Ihiala Local Government to rise up and resoundingly end this election by massively voting for Soludo.
“Let there be no doubt that Ihiala LGA Stands where the rest of ANAMBRA State Stands. I further advise you to mount the horse of great leadership and reach out to other candidates with humility and respect so that together we can all stop pressure cooking ANAMBRA State and start rebuilding. Reach to Val Ozigbo who is much loved and to Dr. Andy Uba who has equally fought a hard campaign. Let us together build a state where all men of faith can find comfort and partnership in Christ. Congratulations Odenigbo
“I will vote APGA tomorrow and be assured Ihiala will massively vote APGA tomorrow” Nwankpo concluded
Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo expressed his joy and promised to build a government of reform and to reach out tonite to all the candidates in the race.
STATEMENT BY THE RETURNING OFFICER FOR THE ANAMBRA STATE GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION, PROFESSOR FLORENCE BANKU OBI, *ON THE SUSPENSION OF COLLATION OF RESULTS PENDING THE CONDUCT OF A SUPPLEMENTARY ELECTION IN IHIALA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, SUNDAY 7TH NOVEMBER 2021.*
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
Let me commence by sincerely thanking all of you, particularly the polling agents of the political parties, for the peaceful and decorous manner we have conducted affairs so far. The brotherly spirit which has come through today is not only noteworthy, but also worthy of emulation. As you all know, we have collated results for twenty (20) out of twenty-one (21) Local Government Areas. The outstanding result is for Ihiala Local Government Area where, for various reasons, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) could not deploy yesterday. Consequently, based on *Constitutional considerations, provisions of the Electoral Act and the Revised Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections issued by the Commission, supplementary election* is indicated for Ihiala Local Government Area.
First, Section 179 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) provides that to be *declared the winner of the Governorship election, a candidate must secure both the highest number of votes cast and 25% of the votes cast in at least two-thirds of the Local Government Areas of the State.* Therefore, it is important to complete the election in Ihiala Local Government Area in order to make that determination.
Similarly, Section 179 (3) of the Constitution provides that a *run-off election shall take place if no candidate meets the requirements of Sub-section 2 of that Section. Such a run-off shall be between the candidate with the highest number of votes and one among the remaining candidates who secured a majority of votes in the highest number of Local Government Areas in the State.* This further underscores the importance of conducting election in all the Local Government Areas before a declaration can be made.
Secondly, Section 26 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) envisages the postponement of an election where there is a cogent and verifiable reason to do so, especially threat of breach of the peace. *One major reason for not deploying for election in Ihiala on Saturday, 6th November 2021, is security threat which led to staffing and transportation constraints, among others.*
Finally, Clause 47 of the Revised Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections provides that *supplementary election shall be conducted where the Commission due to logistical challenges is unable to deploy on election day.*
Given the foregoing, it becomes imperative to bring Ihiala Local Government Area at par with the other twenty (20) Local Government Areas in this election before we can make a valid declaration or take any further necessary action based on the extant law.
Therefore, I, Professor Florence Banku Obi, in my capacity as Returning Officer for this election, hereby announce the suspension of the process of collation of results and declaration of a winner until the supplementary election is held in the 326 Polling Units in Ihiala Local Government of the State.
I have conferred with the Commission, being the body responsible for fixing the date of the election, and the Commission has decided that the supplementary election will take place on *Tuesday, 9th November 2021* . Thereafter, the collation of results shall resume.
Once more, I thank you all for your exceptional conduct so far and appeal to you to support INEC during the supplementary election so that we can bring this election to a satisfactory conclusion for the good people of Anambra State and to the glory of God.
Ihiala has the distinction of being the only local government area in Anambra State where the supplementary gubernatorial election will hold on Tuesday, November 9. Its people have a chance to make history. Not by voting like most other local government areas in the November 6 governorship election but by delivering at least 90% of the vote to the best candidate to lead the emergence of a greater Anambra State, which, with time, will become Africa’s Taiwan. Such overwhelming support will strengthen the hands of Ihiala people and their leaders to negotiate skilfully with the incoming governor who is fortunately a world-class material.
The signs are positive enough. Everyone knows where the two House of Assembly members from the local government area belong. We all know where the lone House of Representatives member from there belongs. Good a thing that all stakeholders from the area have already endorsed the best candidate in this election, with some assisting him with resources.
Ihiala Local Government Area cast more votes for the reelection of Governor Willie Obiano in November, 2017, more than any other LGA in the Anambra South Senatorial zone. Therefore, the voting pattern this time is easily predictable. What most people can’t predict now is the margin of victory.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) leadership itself is determined to make the election transparent enough. The INEC officers who went to work in Ihiala LGA last Saturday and compromised the integrity of the electoral process by being in cahoots with discredited politicians from the area have been removed; a new set will conduct the vote and will be watched very closely by even well-trained intelligence officers. One of the compromised INEC officers, Paul Okolocha, the Electoral Officer, was arrested by the police and the video of the arrest went viral within minutes. He had accepted a result written by a controversial politician and his cohorts, promising to submit it into the system.
Okolocha, an indigene of Enugwu Ukwu in Njikoka Local Government Area, was capitalizing on the ignorance and avarice of these terrible politicians to swindle them of a stupendous amount. The new electronic machines would not have accepted the fake result submitted by agents of Senator Andy Uba of the All Progressives Congress (APC). INEC has deployed a state of the art technology in the Anambra election to fight fake results. With the Bimodal voter authentication system (BVAS), the face and fingerprints of every voter must be verified, authenticated and the result electronically transmitted. Still, these old politicians are likely to attempt tomorrow to smuggle fake results into the system because of their old habits founded on fraud. They did so last Saturday in Abatete, Idemili North Local Government Area, with serious consequences for APC members.
It is reassuring that adequate security will be provided for the supplementary election in Ihiala LGA, up to the level of last Saturday which will make it difficult for criminals to operate. A free, fair and transparent election is a cardinal democratic requirement.
The Ihiala people and their leaders have a date with destiny tomorrow. They will come out in large numbers to give at least 90 per cent of their considerable vote to the best candidate in the November gubernatorial race in Anambra State to the delight of the rest of the state and to the glory of God. Let our LGA make history by being the area which gave the best candidate the highest percentage of votes in this momentous election which will change the history of Anambra State forever.
May God bless Anambra State, the Light of the Nation.
Signed
C. Don Adinuba
Commissioner for Information & Public Enlightenment.
The women of Ebenebe are the true heroines of the Anambra election which took place last Saturday. They turned down a princely N5000 bribe money, brazenly given by APC agents at a polling station. They were emphatic in their rejection of the bribe. They left no room for negotiations. They were firm and final in their approach. They are poor rural women, ravaged by wants like all rural women, but they put up extraordinary courage in the face of inducement and took the moral high ground. And that’s why I celebrate them today!
These women are remarkable. They could have taken the bribe and still voted according to their conscience. But they didn’t want a stain on their conscience. The motto of The Guardian newspaper describes conscience as an open wound which only truth can heal. The women of Ebenebe held onto truth…their healing truth.
Ebenebe is a sleepy town in Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State. The town is not Nnewi or Ihiala or Orafite or Osumenyi where most of Anambra’s billionaires come from. But what they lack in money billionaires they obviously have in moral ones. “One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised,” says Chinua Achebe. The women of Ebenebe have bluntly refused to be compromised. That singular act, little as it seems; gives a lot of hope to Nigeria.
The true value of the symbolic courage of the Ebenebe women is that they live in the same state where a serving deputy governor had been lured away with money, a bullet proof car and assurances of meeting the president, to a rival party. They live in the same state where serving and former members of parliament had defected to another party after collecting N100 million inducement. They live in a state where the basic measure of success is how much money one has. But they have written their story in gold and their names ought to make history. They have taught us that you can live poor and still live with dignity.
The relevant NGOs and constituted authorities should seek out these Ebenebe women and make them a shining example of what Nigeria could be if we get our acts right. The symbolism of their courageous act must not be lost on us. We must act and act now!
Some times, providence offers us a beacon of light with which to illuminate the pathway to the future. But it is up to a discerning society to recognize it and use it well. Aba women did a similar thing in 1929. Their courage inspired self-belief in our founding fathers to challenge the colonial masters. Enugu Coal Miners rose against their users on November 18, 1949. Their act of defiance inspired the Zikist Movement which eventually toppled colonial rule. Can we elevate the Ebenebe Women’s act to The joke will be on us if we miss this opportunity to set a new moral tone for our society at a time when the larger population of the youths are involved in get-rich-quick-or-die-trying schemes.
The women of Ebenebe are a gift we cannot turn down!
Dr. Nkem Okeke, Anambra Deputy who just decamped to APC over porridge yam from Andy Uba of APC has just lost his polling unit to APGA after spending N10,000 per Voter
He became desperate to stop vote count as his security details released gun shots but he couldn’t intimidate APGA voters at the polling unit who stood unmoved and witnessed to the last count of the votes.
APC……………….11
PDP…………………8
APGA………………81
SDP………………….2
ADC………………….1
LP…………………….1
YPP…………………..2
Invalid votes………9
Total number of accredited voters 115
Total number of vote cast 115
Polling Unit 008, Ward IV Enugwu-Ukwu.
APGA 73
APC 14
PDP 15
Polling Unit 005 and 006
APGA 30
APC 22
PDP 12
006
APGA 35
APC 34
PDP 12
Onitsha North ward 14 waterside central 2
Azubike Ggm: Polling Unit 007 Ukpo Ward II St. Simon’s Parish Ukpo
APC……………….11
PDP…………………8
APGA………………81
SDP………………….2
ADC………………….1
LP…………………….1
YPP…………………..2
Invalid votes………9
Total number of accredited voters 115
Total number of vote cast 115
WARD III ENUGWU-UKWU
Osili primary school 001 results
AAC 1
ADC 6
YPP 6
PDP 10
APC 40
APGA 130
RESULTS OF THE POOLING UNITS-005
AT SALVATION ARMY FIELD:
APC-7 VOTES
APGA-27
PDP-31
UCHENABO HALL POOLING UNIT RESULTS:
APC-7 votes
APGA-25 votes
PDP-41
POOLING UNIT:
APC-5
APGA-24
PDP-15
17:51
The Anambra State All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship candidate, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo has taken an early lead as results of the election trickle in.
See some results below:
Result of Adazi Nnukwu Ward one
BMGS PU 002—-
APGA 20,
APC 5 ,
PDP — 10,
YPP 6,
Accord — 1, invalid— 1,
Total accredited: 137
Total registered voters: 1018.
APGA has won the first released polling unit result published by Situation Room, Time: 3:43pm LGA: Idemili North Ward: Ideani Ward I and II PU: 004 and 007.
“It is with a heavy heart that I make this communication with your noble soul, now resident in the heavenly realms, on this occasion of your birthday anniversary today 4th of November and literally on the eve of the Gubernatorial Elections in your beloved state, Anambra on the 6th.
I am filled with concern and anxiety about the current state of the legacy you left us…our party, The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
Today I hear the bells tolling, and the chimes send shivers down my spine.
Today, chaos reigns supreme in our once stable party; our party faithful are despondent and embittered; And many of them have taken their fate in their own hands by bolting away from our party like rats desert a sinking ship….
Some years ago, a carefree former banker called Obiano together with his locust men hijacked our political habitat APGA, and plundered and destroyed the house you toiled night and day to build…
They brought in their strange gods and made desperate party aspirants bow before them in a macabre dance of initiation;
They enthroned injustice and impunity, robbed their brethren and sent many to early graves..
Ikemba Ndi Igbo, you stood for justice and equity, and fought relentlessly for the protection of your people, for the poor and the downtrodden… yet, these Party leaders always chose to play dumb in any critical issue affecting our people , neither did they condemn the unjust imprisonment and wanton killings of their Igbo brothers.
Nna Anyi, they removed your image from our party uniform, boldly labeling you a dead man who was no longer relevant, even to the beloved party you nurtured.
Who is that Herod that seeks to erase your memory from this noble cause, this roll of honour, this last stand for Ndigbo in the twilight years of your life? Obiano, whose greatest legacies are betrayal, distrust and ingratitude?
Obiano, whose parting gift to Ndi Anambra remains the wholesale importation of toxins into our political space…in turning brother against brother, Denomination against Denomination, union leaders against members, Communities against their Stakeholders, Subjects against their traditional Rulers and friends against friends in a craftily orchestrated chess game of divide and rule?
Arise, Odum n’eche Igbo…Arise on our behalf. May this Herod reap the harvest of his habitual treachery, and the first fruits of the turmoil he created as he literally sat back and watched as insecurity overran our space.
May the one who seeks to erase your insignia and obscure your legacy suffer the same fate he strives to inflict on a man of honour; May he suffer the shame and humiliation he gratuitously dishes out to his fellows…
Amuma n’Egbe Igwe, Intercede for us. The eleventh hour is upon us. We are advancing into this electoral battlefield with untreated sores and bleeding wounds, but with our heads held high.
Should we fail to make it, Let it be on record that Willie Obiano destroyed APGA…an unenviable feat that will surely haunt him for the rest of his years.
He will go down in history as the profligate who frittered away our collective patrimony. This, we shall never forget…
Happy Birthday, Odum n’eche Igbo, our Hero. May you continue to enjoy a well merited rest in Heaven’s Land of the Brave.
The candidate of African Action Congress (AAC) for the Anambra governroship election holding tomorrow Dr Chidozie Nwankwo alias Chido has dismissed the report making round in the social media that he has stepped down for the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Mr Valentine Ozigbo saying that he is still in the race for the Anambra top job
Reacting to the report that he has endorsed Ozigbo and collapsed his structure for the PDP candidate Dr Nwankwo popularly known as Chido dismissed the report as “false and ridiculous” from mischief makers that are affriad of his popularity adding that it is unthinkable for him as a leading contender in the race to abandon the race for someone else.
“I am the leading contender in this race with a pole position to win considering my popularity and acceptablity in all round Anambra State and I believe that I will win the election under a free, fair and credible contest, so I can’t step down for someone in a race I am in a pole position to win. It’s not possible” he added
The AAC governroship hopefull enjoined his numerous supporters and the members of the public that had made up their mind to vote for him to discard the report and go out enamss to vote for him as planned as he is still in the race with much hope to win.
He also enjoined the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure a level playing ground in making sure that every vote counts during the election insisting that he will coast home to victory under a level playing ground.
