Moghalu said, “Policemen were around, but people were seen buying votes everywhere, and it was clear.”
By Kehinde Okeowo
The Labour Party (LP) candidate in the recently concluded off-cycle governorship election in Anambra State, George Moghalu, has faulted the exercise, saying the poll’s outcome does not reflect the wishes of the people of the state.
He made this known while featuring as a guest on a Channels Television programme, ‘Sunday Politics’.
Earlier, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chukwuma Soludo, as the winner of the election.
Reacting to the verdict, Moghalu said: “The truth is that the election yesterday is actually not a true reflection of the wishes of ‘ndi’ Anambra (people of Anambra). A few things went wrong: the issue of vote-buying. There were instances where there was voter intimidation and party agents were brutalised.
“There were a few things that happened before the election, which brought us to where we are today. When I heard the number of policemen deployed to manage this election, I felt confident, but here we are. The policemen were around, but people were seen buying votes everywhere, and it was clear.”
On his part, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nicholas Ukachukwu, dismissed Soludo’s victory.
ALSO READ: Orji Kalu hails Soludo on re-election as Anambra gov
While briefing journalists in Awka after the APGA candidate won (a potential second term), he alleged that the election was riddled with intimidation and violence.
He added that most of his supporters sustained injuries, lost homes and vehicles, adding that he will consult with party stakeholders and agents of his party across the state before making a categorical statement on his next move.
Ukachukwu said, “Some of my agents were abducted by our opponents and kept until after the election. All these things are not worth talking about now. At this point, we are still collating information both from our party agents, and I have to consult my party to know what is next.”
The APC candidate added, “Go and check, all the people they arrested were APC people. Go and see the young lady whose house was burnt in Anambra East; her only crime is that she believed in our party and canvassed for our victory.”
He further noted that despite what his party faced during the election, it did well in the poll.
“Today, they cannot say that APC is not in existence in Anambra because 99,000 is not a small number,” Ukachukwu concluded.
