Governor Chukwuma Soludo
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Sly Ezeokonwa, has described as “shocking” the claims by opposition parties that APGA engaged in vote-buying during the just-concluded Anambra State governorship election.
Speaking on Channels Television’s breakfast show, The Morning Brief, on Wednesday, Ezeokonwa dismissed the allegations, insisting that APGA lacked the kind of “deep pockets” required for such an act and that the victory of Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo was purely the outcome of performance-driven politics.
“The claim that APGA was involved in vote buying is shocking. I honestly don’t understand what deep pocket people think we have to influence votes. The truth is that our victory came from the people’s appreciation of good governance,” Ezeokonwa stated.
Ezeokonwa explained that the election result reflected a growing political consciousness among Anambra voters, who, he said, responded to Soludo’s record of development rather than financial inducement.
“We tested a hypothesis in this election—that the politics of development can become political capital. What we witnessed was a clear demonstration that when development reaches the people, they take ownership of the process,” he said.
The APGA chairman revealed that the party’s campaign across Anambra’s 179 communities and 326 wards was largely people-driven, with local residents mobilizing, funding, and inviting the governor to interact directly with them.
“Communities organised themselves, rented canopies and stages, and invited the governor to speak. They even pooled their own resources to support the campaign. That is what I call ownership—something this country has rarely seen,” he added.
Ezeokonwa maintained that APGA’s performance at the polls was a testament to its grassroots connection and the people’s endorsement of Soludo’s developmental vision, not the product of vote buying.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday presented certificates of return to Governor Soludo and his deputy following their re-election. INEC declared Soludo winner of the November 8, 2025 election with 422,664 votes, defeating Nicholas Ukachukwu of the APC who scored 99,445 votes.
Sixteen political parties participated in the poll, with 598,229 voters accredited out of 2,788,864 registered voters. Of the total 595,298 votes cast, 584,054 were valid while 11,244 were rejected
ADVERTISEMENTS
