Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Tuesday, officially confirmed the re-election of Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo and his deputy, Onyekachukwu Ibezim, with the issuance of certificates of return to both of them.
INEC Supervising National Commissioner for Anambra State, Kenneth Ikeagu, handed over the certificates to Soludo and his deputy in Awka two days after they were declared the winners of the November 8 governorship election.
Presenting the certificates, Ikeagu said, “Section 72(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 mandates INEC to issue a certificate of return within 14 days to every candidate duly returned by the returning officer.
“In compliance with this provision, it is my honour to present the certificates of return to the Governor and Deputy Governor-elect, who emerged victorious in the election.”
Soludo, flagbearer of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, defeated his main opponent, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored 99,445 votes.
Paul Chukwuma of the Young Progressives Party came in third with 37,753 votes.
The Returning Officer, who is also Vice-Chancellor of the University of Benin, Edoba Omoregie, declared that Soludo received 422,664 votes, winning all 21 local government areas.
16 candidates participated in the election.
Out of the 2,788,864 registered voters, 598,229 were accredited, with 595,298 votes cast and 11,244 votes rejected.
