Anambra election: How Soludo decimated crisis-ridden Labour Party, PDP
On Sunday, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, announced Governor Chukwuma Soludo as the winner of the November 8 governorship election in Anambra State.
SOCIETY WATCH reported that the Returning Officer and Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin, Prof. Edogah Omoregie, made the declaration at the commission’s headquarters in Awka on Sunday.
Soludo contested on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, and polled 422,664 votes to emerge the winner of the election.
His closest rival, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, scored 99,445 votes to come second.
According to INEC, the candidate of the Young Progressives Party, YPP, Paul Chukwuma, secured 37,753 votes.
While George Moghalu, the candidate of the Labour Party, scored 10,576 votes, John Nwosu, the candidate of the coalition-backed African Democratic Congress, ADC, polled 8,208 votes.
SOCIETY WATCH reports that when INEC declared Soludo winner of the Anambra State governorship election, few were surprised.
The victory reflected not only Soludo’s political strength but the disarray within the opposition.
While George Moghalu, the candidate of the Labour Party, scored 10,576 votes, John Nwosu, the candidate of the coalition-backed African Democratic Congress, ADC, polled 8,208 votes.
Behind the numbers was a familiar story in Nigerian politics: one of fractured parties and internal rivalries that proved costly at the polls.
Labour Party’s internal turmoil
The Labour Party, once buoyed by the momentum of the 2023 general elections, entered the Anambra governorship race deeply divided. Competing factions loyal to different national chairmen produced parallel candidates, each claiming legitimacy. The pro-Abure faction backed a relatively unknown aspirant, while another camp rallied behind a former federal lawmaker.
The confusion over who the authentic candidate created voter apathy within the party’s base. By the time the courts intervened, campaign time had been lost, and resources dissipated in legal wrangling rather than mobilization.
In several local governments, LP supporters admitted they were unsure who truly represented the party.
“We were ready to vote Labour, but no one even came here to campaign,” said a resident of Nnewi South.
“They were fighting themselves while Soludo was busy working,” he added.
PDP’s leadership battles, defections
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has continued to count its losses following the protracted leadership crisis bedevilling the party since the aftermath of the 2023 general election.
