Nicholas Ukachukwu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate within the Anambra governorship election, has painted a dramatic image of final Saturday’s ballot, describing it as marred by intimidation and irregularities, at the same time as he vowed to seek the advice of his supporters earlier than taking any post-election motion.
While Professor Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) was declared the winner with 422,664 votes, Ukachukwu, who got here second with 99,445 votes, prompt that the election was removed from a stage taking part in subject.
Speaking at a press briefing in Awka, he alleged that “my supporters, including my running mate, were intimidated by thugs and prevented from casting their votes. One of our agents was detained until after the election.”
Ukachukwu mentioned the alleged harassment and violence, together with the burning of an APC supporter’s home, couldn’t be ignored.
“Whatever decision I make, I must carry those 99,445 voters who voted for me along. They voted because they want Anambra to move forward,” he mentioned.
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Despite the setbacks, Ukachukwu careworn the APC’s resilience and rising energy within the state.
“For the first time in the history of the election, the APC scored almost 100,000 votes without any inducement. The people spoke, and APC is here to stay,” he added.
He additionally questioned the widespread accusations of vote-buying, insisting that the social gathering’s candidates had no capability to control voters financially.
“If the APGA candidate bought votes, the result would have been obvious. The violence targeted our supporters,” Ukachukwu mentioned.
The candidate concluded that the social gathering remains to be gathering detailed stories from its brokers and would fastidiously weigh the subsequent steps, signalling that the post-election interval in Anambra may nonetheless see political maneuvers and challenges to the declared outcomes.
