Ukachukwu Beats Ozigbo, 2 Others in Anambra APC Governorship Primary

By Our Reporter

Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu has emerged as the winner of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary election in Anambra State.

Ukachukwu secured the party’s ticket with a landslide victory, polling 1,455 votes in the controversial election that began on Saturday and lasted until 4:19 a.m. on Sunday.

Valentine Ozigbo, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the last election, came a distant second with 67 votes, followed by Johnbosco Onunkwo with 26 votes. Edozie Madu trailed with 8 votes, while 27 votes were declared invalid.

Announcing the results in the early hours of Sunday, the APC returning officer and Governor of Cross River State, Bassey Otu, declared Ukachukwu as the party’s flag bearer and described him as “the lion of APC in Anambra State.”

Ukachukwu will face off against the incumbent Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), in the November 8 governorship election.

Declaring the result, Governor Otu said, “By the power conferred on me as the chief returning officer, I hereby declare him the winner of the APC primaries in Anambra State.”

Otu, however, commended the security agencies for maintaining law and order, while also, thanking the contestants for their doggedness and maturity

“Power belongs to God. There’s no victor, no vanquished in today’s election. Our party had already decided that whoever that emerges victorious would be supported by all” the governor said.

The total number of delegates was 1630, but 1582 were accredited.

In his victory speech, Ukachukwu thanked President Bola Tinubu for giving the APC in Anambra the platform to vote which according to him, was the first in Anambra’s history without writing the result.

“It is beginning of a journey. All of us have to come together as one family for this journey. It is not going to be easy fighting the incumbent, but with a united house, everything is possible with the help of God

“We should close ranks and deliver Anambra to APC come November 8 and I promise not to disappoint you”, Ukachukwu said

The governorship candidate of the APC represented Abuja Municipal at the Federal House of representative in 1999.

But the primary election was trailed by controversies that led to the withdrawal of some aspirants hitherto touted as top contenders from the race.

Ahead of the election on Saturday, three of the aspirants – Sir Paul Chukwuma from Umueri, Anambra North, Chukwuma Umeoji from Aguata and Prof Obiora Okonkwo – withdrew from the race, leaving only Edozie Madu, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, Valentine Ozigbo and Johnbosco Onunkwo.

Paul Chukwuma, who was one of the leading contenders for the APC ticket, not only withdrew but also resigned from the party

However, he told the party members that he would keep supporting President Bola Tinubu in his Renewed Hope Agenda in repositioning Anambra, despite leaving the party.

He said, “Mr President is not the problem of APC, but some of the unprogressive elements who don’t want the party to move forward.

“I’ve resigned from the party by tendering my letter to the ward chairman of the party. For now, I want to rest, having built the party for many years,” he said.

In their letters of withdrawal, both Umeoji and Okonkwo thanked their supporters for their support and wished the party well.