Governor Soludo casting his vote
Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo has expressed concern over reports of large-scale vote buying in parts of Nnewi South Local Government Area during Saturday’s governorship election.
The governor, who spoke to journalists shortly after casting his ballot at Polling Unit 002, Ofiyi Square, Umueze, Isuofia Ward 13 in Aguata Local Government Area around 1:20 p.m., described the election as largely peaceful but noted some irregularities in certain locations.
“I have been getting numerous calls from across the state. I think it has been relatively peaceful and going smoothly,” Soludo said. “Though there are some glitches at polling units in Olumbanasa in Anambra West, where the BVAS reportedly did not work as expected, on the average, the election is going well.”
The governor, however, lamented reports indicating that some voters were being financially induced in Nnewi South.
“The only concern we have received is in one or two places in Nnewi South where we understand that there has been massive vote buying. Some voters are being paid as much as N15,000,” he alleged.
Soludo, who is seeking to consolidate his administration’s mandate, said he was confident that the process would reflect the will of the people.
“Our party will win based on one man, one vote,” he stated.
He also cautioned against any attempt to tamper with results during the collation stage, alleging that a certain political party was plotting to distort figures.
“The only concern—and we hope it does not happen—is that one political party’s strategy is to swap results during collation. They even told their polling agents not to write results properly or upload them on IReV to create room for manipulation,” Soludo claimed.
“But we have confidence in the system. Our people are vigilant, organised, and united. We will follow the process from the polling units to the wards, LGAs, and the state. If the system works as designed, we have no doubt that we will win all 21 local government areas,” he added.
Soludo commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the early commencement of voting and praised residents for conducting themselves peacefully throughout the process.
