Nwafor Okafor
Anambra: Ozigbo congratulates Soludo, blames Church politics, INEC, police

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Valentine Ozigbo has congratulated the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Prof Chukwuma Soludo on his victory in the governorship elections of the State.

In a statement signed by himself and made available to journalist in Awka on Wednesday, Ozigbo who came second in the poll said he had called Soludo to congratulate him on his success.

The PDP candidate, however, blamed the police, the Independent National Electoral Commission and general corruption as some of the factors that tainted the election.

He said despite the outcome of the election, he would be committed in the things that would progress the state and the people therein .
He said,"I have just called Professor Chukwuma Soludo and congratulated him on being declared the winner of the Anambra State governorship elections, 2021. I wished him well and prayed for his success.

"Let me also use this opportunity to congratulate all the men and women who contested our dear state's governorship this year. You all have shown a determination to see that Anambra is better. It was an honour to run this race with you.



"I thank all the courageous men and women who first believed in me, many of them without knowing me well. You are the heroes of our Ka Anambra Chawapu Movement. I also thank everyone who believed, even without meeting me, who heard our message and came out in full support.

I am grateful to every single person who joined our movement and contributed in one way or the other. The thousands who showed us so much love, from youths and women in the grassroot, to those in the diaspora, to the nonIndigenes, various church groups across all denominations, market women, civil servants, artisans, and many more. Thank you for your prayers, your material, financial, and intellectual contributions. May the Lord reward you abundantly.

I thank the leaders and pillars of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party at the national (especially the PDP Governors), state and ward levels who stood by us and worked tirelessly to win the mandate of Ndi Anambra. I appreciate your amazing support and friendship.


He added,"This election was fraught with a lot of short-comings on the part of various government institutions. The security agencies failed to provide a peaceful environment for campaigns to hold. On election day, they were absent from many polling centres leading to elections not holding or held in situations that allowed for chaos and fraud.

"The national electoral commission presented untrained and poorly trained staff who could not operate the voting machines in many places. They failed woefully in providing logistical support for their staff and so elections started very late in many places and did not hold in many others.

"The use of government funds and resources to corrupt, coerce, and intimidate voters, PDP party agents, and electoral officials was a major factor in determining the outcome of this election.

"All of these led to the disenfranchisement of the greater percentage of voters and staining the course of democracy. I will be dedicating time to champion the positive change we need to ensure that future elections are truly free and fair and that the will of the electorate prevails.

"Denominational politics was also a factor. We need to do a lot more to ensure that competence is never sacrificed on this altar, and that democracy is practiced in line with its truest tenets.

"In all, I am more determined to working for a better future for our children by remaining in active politics and rebuilding our party to be more united and more robust for those who come after us", Ozigbo stated.

Way to go. But I'm not sure that even in the near future that apga will loose anambra to any party. One love

In the north and east religon and politics work together . It is only in the west that religion does not really play a major role but with what MURIC is doing now things may go out of hand.

Valentine Ozigbo bú Ezigbo madú.