Anambra Poll: How Soludo Crushed a Divided Labour Party and a Weak PDP
Story: Written by Joseph November 10,2025
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Sunday declared Governor Chukwuma Soludo the winner of the November 8 governorship election in Anambra State.
The Returning Officer, Prof. Edogah Omoregie, Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin, announced the results at INEC’s headquarters in Awka.
Soludo, who ran under the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), secured 422,664 votes, winning by a wide margin.
His closest challenger, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), got 99,445 votes, while Paul Chukwuma of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) polled 37,753 votes.
George Moghalu of the Labour Party (LP) scored 10,576, and John Nwosu of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) finished with 8,208 votes.
Though the results shocked no one, the numbers highlighted the clear collapse of the opposition and Soludo’s political advantage.
✅ Labour Party: Crisis and Confusion
The Labour Party entered the election fighting itself. Rival factions backed different candidates and spent more time in court than campaigning. Many supporters were left confused, unsure who the authentic candidate was.
A voter in Nnewi South said:
“We wanted to vote Labour, but nobody came to campaign. They were busy fighting themselves while Soludo was working.”
✅ PDP: Leadership Troubles and Defection
The Peoples Democratic Party struggled with leadership battles and defections since the 2023 general election. Many hopefuls refused to buy nomination forms because of the crisis.
In the end, the party settled for an Abuja-based real estate developer, Chief Jude Ezenwafor, the only aspirant who paid for the N40m nomination form and was endorsed by 853 delegates across the 21 LGAs.
✅ Widespread Vote Buying
Reports of irregularities and vote-buying dominated the election. Voters in parts of Awka South claimed APGA agents paid N5,000, while APC allegedly paid up to N10,000 per voter.
Labour Party candidate, George Moghalu, alleged that APGA led the vote-buying spree.
He said:
“I refused to buy votes. I didn’t have the kind of money others were sharing. People are struggling, so many fell for the money.”
He also claimed that a state commissioner was caught on camera paying voters.
✅ Incumbency Advantag
While the opposition struggled, Soludo exploited the strength of incumbency. His campaign showcased visible infrastructure, education plans, and APGA’s long-standing grassroots network.
APGA agents were present in most polling units across the 21 local governments, while PDP and LP had poor representation. By the time results were collated, APGA had swept the state with little resistance.
✅ Analysts Warn of a Repeat in 2027
Political analysts say the election is a clear warning to opposition parties.
According to Nduka Odo, a public affairs analyst at Peaceland University, the opposition must unite or risk repeat humiliation in future elections.
He said the poor performance of PDP, LP, and ADC shows they lacked structure and unity.
“If the opposition refuses to work together, the ruling party will keep winning. Even in the past, PDP only lost power because parties merged to form APC. Without unity, they will fail again in 2027.”
