The Anambra gov election: A postscript

ON Tuesday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) presented Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo of Anambra State and his deputy, Dr. Onyekachukwu Ibezim, with their certificates of return following their victory during the Anambra State governorship election conducted on Saturday, November 8. The certificates were presented by the INEC Supervising National Commissioner and Chairman of the Tenders Board Committee, Dr. Ken Ukeagu, during a briefing at the INEC headquarters in Awka, the state capital. Speaking on the occasion, Soludo pledged to work harder in his second term than he did during his first, describing the election as free, fair, and credible. He thanked all those who made it possible, especially President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whom he commended for keeping his promise to ensure a transparent and credible process. He added: “I am deeply grateful to the people of Anambra for their trust, and in particular, to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for their confidence in presenting me again and supporting me all the way.”

INEC had declared Soludo as the winner of the election on Sunday, November 9.  According to the INEC Returning Officer and Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin, Professor Edogah Omoregie, Soludo polled 422,664 votes out of a total of 584,054 valid votes collated across the state. His closest rival, Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), garnered 99,445 votes, while Sir Paul Chukwuma of the Nigeria’s Young Progressives Party (YPP) polled 37,753 votes. Other candidates included the African Democratic Congress (ADC) with 8,208 votes and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with 1,401 votes. Going by the final results announced by INEC, the governor won in all the 21 local government areas of the state. The Returning Officer indicated that there were some wards affected by certain incidents, which meant that some results were cancelled. The affected areas, he said, included Anambra West, Anaocha, Awka South, and Onitsha South LGAs, adding that the incidents did not nullify the outcome of the election.

The candidates of the opposition parties, including APC, PDP, ADC and the Labour Party (LP) however insisted that the election was marred by massive violence and vote buying. They maintained that it was a clear subversion of the people’s will. But congratulating the Anambra governor, President Bola Tinubu described his victory as “a testament to his visionary leadership and the significant progress the state has made under his guidance.” Tinubu also commended the INEC chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, for conducting a credible election. He charged the electoral umpire to maintain the standards and further improve its performance to strengthen and deepen the country’s electoral system. Similarly, the Ogun State governor and Chairman of the Southern Governors Forum, Prince Dapo Abiodun, congratulated Soludo, saying that the results showed, in unmistakable terms, that the people of Anambra State had huge confidence in his leadership, and charging him to use the victory as a tool for greater delivery of the dividends of democracy and to unite all political tendencies in the state for its development.

A review of the election shows that although a total number of 2,788,864 voters were registered, only 598,229 voters ended up getting accredited. This shows that only 21.45 percent of the registered voters participated in the election, while 1.88 percent of the votes were invalidated. Out of the significantly small number of votes cast during the election, the winner, Professor Soludo, got 72.36 percent of the total number of votes cast. It cannot be cheering news that 78.55 percent of the registered voters did not bother to come out to vote at all. This statistics, which is consistent with the pattern of elections since the onset of the current Republic, leads to the inescapable conclusion that the majority of Nigerians are not even participating in the electoral process, opting to stay at home during elections, perhaps out of fear that election results have been predetermined, and that violence might ensue.  As we have said in previous editorials, this is not the right attitude to have, because the leadership recruitment process is too serious to be left to chance.

Admittedly, as many observers have pointed out, the November 8 election was marred by vote buying. As a matter of fact, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) issued a seven-day ultimatum to INEC to immediately refer all allegations of vote buying and undue influence during the election to the anti-graft and law enforcement agencies. As it pointed out, the impunity that attended past cases of vote buying is a fundamental barrier to achieving free and fair elections in Nigeria. It said: “Unless the legacy of impunity for these grave electoral offences is combated and perpetrators effectively prosecuted, those contemplating vote buying will feel unconstrained in future elections.” Although election observers from the Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) and the Catch Them Young Community Initiative (CATYCOI)  described the election as “largely peaceful” and commended INEC and the security agencies for maintaining order throughout the process, they expressed concern over low voter turnout and persistent incidents of vote buying, which they warned would continue to undermine electoral integrity in Nigeria. Their verdict: “From our observation, we can confidently say that the 2025 Anambra off-cycle governorship election was largely peaceful. The conduct of INEC officials and security personnel contributed significantly to the calm atmosphere, and citizens who came out to vote were able to exercise their rights without major disruption. We call on INEC, civil society organisations, development partners, and community leaders to put all hands on deck to address the challenges. INEC should intensify voter education and civic engagement to rebuild public trust and strengthen enforcement of laws against vote buying.” We endorse this call.

The Anambra election has produced a winner, but there is still a lot to be concerned about. The open purchase of votes during the election leaves a sour taste in the mouth. It portrays elections in the country as an elaborate scam. It portrays democracy in the country as a callous transaction that leaves the future in peril. In any case, the fact that only a small fraction of registered voters participated in the election shows that, as they say, it is still “business as usual” in the country. This terrible situation has to be decisively addressed.