Governor Chukwuma Soludo, winner of last Saturday’s governorship election in Anambra State.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has presented the Certificate of Return to Governor Chukwuma Soludo as winner of last Saturday’s governorship election in Anambra State.
While receiving the certificate at the INEC’s headquarters in Awka, Soludo assured residents of more dividends of democracy.
While commending the November 8, 2025 election as free, fair and credible, he appreciated President Bola Tinubu for his role to instill transparency in the poll.
He said, “I want to assure you that my deputy, our team and I will work to ensure that Anambra continues to shine. God has been with us and remains with us.
“I will not fail you. I will work harder in my second term than I did in my first, so that at the end of eight years, our people will look back and be happy that the confidence they placed in me was not in vain.”
He called on the opposition to join hands with his administration “so we can move our state forward and make it a destination hub in Nigeria.”
Soludo thank God for “the miracle of my overwhelming victory. I also thank President Bola Tinubu for his firm stance on transparent and credible elections in Anambra State.
“I thank the entire INEC team—the newly appointed Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan; the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Queen Agwu; INEC staff; the media; and security agencies—for conducting a free, fair and transparent election,” he added.
Soludo also commended voters for what he described as an “unprecedented” turnout.
“There is hope for this country. I see Nigeria as half full, not half empty. Security agencies stood firm and ensured the will of the people was not subverted.
“We had an unprecedented turnout—almost 600,000 voters. For the first time in Anambra’s history, a candidate secured 73 per cent of total votes cast, winning 98 per cent of all wards and 99 per cent of polling units. In several local government areas, we did not lose a single polling unit.
He said, “I want to assure you that my deputy, our team and I will work to ensure that Anambra continues to shine. God has been with us and remains with us.
“I will not fail you. I will work harder in my second term than I did in my first, so that at the end of eight years, our people will look back and be happy that the confidence they placed in me was not in vain.”
Earlier, while presenting the certificates, the Supervising National Commissioner, Dr. Ken Ukeagu, said INEC was fulfilling its statutory obligation.
“Section 72(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 mandates the Commission to issue a Certificate of Return within 14 days to every candidate duly returned by the returning officer,” he said.
He added that the 2025 poll demonstrated continued progress in strengthening electoral integrity, with the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and the enhanced INEC Result Viewing portal, which deepened transparency and inclusiveness.
The PUNCH report that INEC had early Sunday declared Soludo winner of the poll, announcing he polled 422,664 votes to defeat his closest rival, Nicholas Ukachukwu, of the the All Progressives Congress candidate, who scored 99,445 votes.
The Young Progressives Party candidate, Sir Paul Chukwuma, came third with 37,753 votes.
According to INEC, 16 candidates contested the election. Of the state’s 2,788,864 registered voters, 598,229 were accredited, while 595,298 votes were cast. A total of 11,244 votes were rejected across the 21 LGAs.
From the official results declared by the Returning Officer and Vice Chancellor, University of Benin, Prof. Edoba Omoregie, Soludo won all 21 local government areas.
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