One-time Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Prof Chukwuma Soludo yesterday picked the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) ticket to contest November 6 governorship election in Anambra State.
He polled 740 votes out of 792 valid votes cast by delegates at the party’s primary in Awka, the state capital.
Declaring the results of the exercise, Samson Olalere, the Returning Officer said Soludo fulfilled the provisions of Electoral Act and APGA guidelines.
Olalere said Soludo beat his rivals – House of Representative member Okwudili Ezenwakwo, Damian Okolo and Thankgod Ibeh, who scored 41, seven and four votes respectively.
He said a total of 812 delegates were registered out of which 795 accredited and 792 voted.
The returning officer issued the APGA candidate Certificate of Return after Gov. Willie Obiano, raised up Soludo’s hand as the duly elected candidate of the party in the forthcoming election.
In his remark, Obiano congratulated Soludo for his victory and called on party faithful’s support.
In his acceptance speech, Soludo said he was humbled by the overwhelming votes with which he emerged.
He thanked his co-contestants for their gallantry while extending an olive branch to them, adding that APGA is a big house with enough room to accommodate everyone.
The former CBN boss promised to build on the success of past administrations in the state if he eventually becomes the elected governor in November.
Soludo also thanked Obiano for his leadership style and APGA National Chairman Dr. Victor Oye, who he noted grew the party to be the third strongest in the country.
AGGA chieftain Neville Uchendu described the primary’s outcome as a tip of the iceberg on what would happen at the poll.
“Soludo is greatly loved by Anambra people and they will massively vote for him during the election,” he said.
