I’m APGA authentic candidate for Anambra election – Soludo

A former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, said on Friday that he would participate in the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State despite his exclusion from the race by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Soludo, who was declared winner of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship primary held on June 23, was conspicuously missing from the list of candidates cleared for the election by INEC.

In the list released by the commission on Friday, Chukwuma Udoji was listed as APGA authentic candidate for the election.

While the ex-CBN governor was Governor Willie Obiano is the preferred candidate for the election, Udoji won the primary election conducted by a factional national chairman of APGA, Jude Okeke.

Soludo, who reacted to the development in a statement issued by his media aide, Joe Anatune, said he remained the party’s governorship candidate for the election.

The statement read: “The Chukwuma Soludo Campaign has been briefed on a publication by the Independent National Electoral Commission where Honourable Chukwuma Umeorji has been published as the candidate of the APGA in the November 6, 2021, gubernatorial election in Anambra State.

“The INEC publication is based on a judgment by a High Court in Jigawa State, and the electoral body sensibly wrote that its inclusion of Umeorji as a candidate in the election is ‘By Judgment.’

“Our millions of supporters in Anambra State and elsewhere in the world are advised not to be dispirited by the publication seriously.

“Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo will participate in the governorship election as the APGA candidate. His nomination was strictly in line with the Electoral Law and INEC guidelines. INEC observed the APGA Congress on Wednesday, June 23, 2021, where he was nominated after winning 93.4 percent of the valid votes cast in a free, fair, and transparent manner which was broadcasted live on national television networks as part of deepening the democratic process in Nigeria.

“Our team of dedicated and competent legal experts has studied the judgment and is confident of overturning it effortlessly. The party is at liberty to nominate the right candidate so long as due process is followed. Soludo’s nomination followed due process religiously.

“Our supporters and indeed all Anambra people, who have been waiting patiently for Soludo’s leadership of the state, are advised not to be deterred by the Jigawa State Court order.

“They should rather remain supremely confident of not only Soludo’s participation in the November 6 election but also his triumph in the polls with a big margin which will lead to a new era in our state for the benefit of all.”