CITIZENS COMPASS— The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate in the Anambra governorship election, John Nwosu, on Sunday, described the election as “cash and carry”.
Recall that the governorship election saw Charles Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) being announced as the winner.
Nwosu said voters were offered with sums ranging from between N3,000 and N20,000 during the election which was held on Saturday.
The ADC candidate said he has rejected the outcome of the poll in all ramifications.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had on Sunday declared Governor Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) winner of the election with 422,664 votes. Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) came second with 99,445 votes, while Nwosu got 8,208 votes.
In a statement issued after the announcement, Nwosu said the exercise did not reflect the genuine choice of voters. He alleged widespread vote buying across several polling units, claiming that voters were induced with sums ranging from N3,000 to N20,000.
He said such actions turned the election into a commercial transaction rather than a democratic process.
According to him, the development amounted to a national embarrassment and undermined the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral system.
Nwosu said an election can only be considered credible when the process is free of manipulation and corruption. He added that any outcome achieved through inducement cannot be viewed as the true voice of the electorate.
He called for a collective effort to end what he described as a growing culture of electoral corruption, warning that the practice compromises the nation’s democratic future.
Nwosu thanked members of the ADC and his campaign supporters, praising them for resisting pressures and remaining committed despite what he described as intimidation and inducement during the election.
Similarly, Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in the election, Dr. George Moghalu, has rejected the result of the election.
Speaking to journalists in his Nnewi office on Sunday, less than six hours after the official declaration of results, Dr. Moghalu said he was dissatisfied with the conduct of the election and alleged that several irregularities occurred during the process.
He claimed that the exercise was marred by what he described as widespread vote buying and reports of underage voting in some areas.
“The November 8, 2025 governorship election in Anambra State, in my view, fell short of expectations. I hereby reject it in its entirety,” he said. “I have contested in previous elections, but this one was different. The level of vote buying was alarming.”
Dr. Moghalu further alleged that minors were seen in possession of voter cards and that some were allowed to vote.
“Children who were not supposed to be carrying voter cards were openly seen with them and allowed to vote,” he claimed. “These are issues that raise questions about the integrity of the process.”
He also said he received reports from his team that in some polling units the LP name appeared on the ballot paper without the party’s logo, making it difficult for voters to identify the party’s position on the ballot.
Moghalu stressed that he would make a more detailed statement after receiving a comprehensive report from his agents across the state.
“Once I get the full report of the election, we will analyse it and then determine our next course of action. But one thing is clear: I reject the result,” he said.
When asked whether he planned to challenge the outcome in court, he declined to give a definitive answer, saying it would be premature to make that decision without reviewing all reports.
Responding to claims that some LP agents were not present at certain polling units, he said some may have left out of frustration over situations they observed during voting.
In a related development, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, has rejected the election results.
