Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu has clinched the All Progressives Congress, APC, ticket to contest the November 8 governorship election in Anambra State.
His emergence followed a landslide victory at the party’s primary held on Sunday.
The results were announced around 4:56 a.m. by Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu, the Chairman of the APC Electoral Committee and Governor of Cross River State. Ukachukwu polled 1,455 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Valentine Ozigbo, who garnered 67 votes.
Other aspirants in the race included Johnbosco Onunkwo and Edozie Madu, who scored 26 and 8 votes respectively. There were also 26 invalid votes recorded in the exercise.
In his acceptance speech, Ukachukwu thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for ensuring a peaceful and transparent process. He also appreciated the APC National Working Committee, Senator Otu and his team, fellow aspirants, and delegates for their contributions to the success of the primary.
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Calling for unity, Ukachukwu appealed to his fellow aspirants to rally behind him, stating that a collective front was necessary to ensure APC’s victory in the main election. He emphasized that the interest of Anambra must come before personal ambitions.
He recounted his role in the political history of the state, describing himself as a long-time kingmaker. “I have been instrumental to the emergence of successive governors in Anambra. I have played the role of a godfather, but now, I am ready to father myself,” he said.
Ukachukwu pledged to uphold the trust of party members and citizens of Anambra if elected. He promised to bring effective leadership to challenge the incumbent, Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance.
Before the primary, two aspirants—Obiorah Okonkwo and Chukwuma Umeoji—withdrew from the race, while Paul Chukwuma exited the party entirely. A total of 1,630 delegates from all 320 wards across the 21 local government areas participated in the primary.
Crediblebewsng.com
