Soludo savours victory, promises to be Anambra Chief Servant

Governor-elect of Anambra State, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has declared that his victory reflects the supreme will of the Almighty God, as well as an overwhelming sacred mandate of the people.

The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) promised to be the Chief Servant of Anambra State.

He stated this on Wednesday at his residence in his country home in Isuofia, Aguata Local Government Area, while making his acceptance speech.

This followed his declaration as the winner by INEC.

While promising to make the people proud, Soludo solicited for guidance, advice and contribution of everyone to succeed.

“My role will be that of your chief servant, and I will work every minute of the day with you to make you profoundly proud.

“Working in collaboration with other states, the Federal Government, and the international community, we have all that it takes to make our state whatever we collectively wish it to be.

“As we transit to a post-oil world and into the 4th industrial revolution, let us work together to create that livable and prosperous homeland.

“That is the industrial, technology and leisure hub of West Africa.

“This is our manifest destiny, and collectively we shall get there!” he said.

Soludo congratulated other candidates who contested in the election and urged them to support him.

“I hereby extend my hand of fellowship to all of you. I need all of you to succeed.

“Politics aside, we are all brothers. Let’s come together for the ‘Project Anambra’,” he urged.

The declaration of Soludo was, however, sequel to his victory after the successful conduct of the supplementary election in Ihiala Local Government on Tuesday.

The supplementary poll was conducted after the declaration of Saturday’s gubernatorial poll as inconclusive by the Returning Officer, Prof. Florence Obi, the Vice Chancellor, University of Calabar.

Obi in the early hours of Wednesday declared Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) winner after polling a total of 112,229 votes.

He defeated his closest rival, Mr. Valentine Ozigbo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who scored 53,807, to emerge second.

Senator Andy Uba of the All Progressives Congress (APC) got a total of 43,285 votes to clinch the third position.

Soludo said that the use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), represented a massive improvement over the Card Reader and Manual Accreditation System.

He urged INEC to ensure the continuous refinement of the technology, as well as upscaling of the skills of its operators.

The governor-elect further called for collaboration with telecommunication companies to improve on the nation’s electoral system.

While commending INEC for its efforts, he averred: “The election has been adjudged as the most peaceful, free, fair and credible.”