The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Charles Soludo, has received his Certificate of Return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following his victory in the just-concluded guber election in Anambra State.
Soludo, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), received the Certificate of Return in a ceremony on Friday in Awka.
The Deputy Governor-elect, Onyeka Ibezim, also got his Certificate of Return.
Friday’s event followed an election that saw Soludo sweep to victory in an emphatic style. The Isuofia-born banker won 19 of the 21 local government areas of the state to clinch the position.
The 61-year-old polled 112,229 votes, twice higher than his closest rival, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Valentine Ozigbo who had 53,807 votes.
“That Charles Chukwuma Soludo of APGA, having satisfied the requirements of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” the returning officer for the election, Professor Florence Obi, said while pronouncing him as the winner.
A flurry of congratulatory messages – including those from his opponents – have continued to pour in since his electoral victory.
President Muhammadu Buhari, who was among the first to congratulate Soludo on his feat, described the election as a reflection of the people’s will and said he looks forward to working with him.
“President Buhari enjoins Prof. Soludo, member of the Presidential Economic Advisory Committee, to rally other stakeholders to tackle the enormous challenges confronting the State and the Southeast in general,” presidential aide, Femi Adesina, said in a statement.
“The President looks forward to working with the incoming governor for the peace, security, and development of not only Anambra State but the entire country. ”
Soludo had, in the wake of his win, thanked the people of Anambra State for giving him the mandate.
He equally extended the olive branch to other contestants, asking them to keep the “spirit of Anambra alive and strong” and “take our homeland to the moon”.
