‘I will win fairly’: Soludo confident amid reports of vote buying

Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State has condemned the alleged incidents of vote buying reported in some polling units within Nnewi South Local Government Area.

The governor made the remarks shortly after casting his vote at Polling Unit 002, Ofiyi Square, Umueze, Isuofia Ward 13, Aguata Local Government Area, at about 1:20 p.m. on Saturday.

Speaking to journalists, Soludo expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the election, commending the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for maintaining a calm and orderly process.

“I’ve received several reports from across the state, and, so far, the exercise has been largely peaceful,” he said. “There have been a few technical issues, such as the BVAS malfunction in Olumbanasa, Anambra West, but generally, things are proceeding well,” Soludo added.

However, the governor voiced serious concern about reports of widespread vote buying in parts of Nnewi South, alleging that some voters were being offered up to ₦15,000 to influence their choices.

“That’s the major issue we’ve heard of in one or two locations in Nnewi South, cases of people being paid as much as fifteen thousand naira to vote in a particular way,” Soludo stated.

He reaffirmed his belief that the contest would be decided by the will of the people, emphasising his confidence in a transparent process built on the principle of “one man, one vote.”

Soludo also praised the large voter turnout and assured that anyone still on the queue before the official closing time of 2:30 p.m. would be allowed to vote.

The governor further raised concerns about alleged plans by a certain political party to tamper with results during collation.

“We’ve been informed that one party’s tactic is to alter results at the collation stage. They reportedly instructed their agents not to record figures correctly or upload them to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) to create room for manipulation,” he alleged.

Despite this, Soludo expressed optimism, saying: “Our people are alert, organised, and united. We’ll monitor the process closely — from the polling units to the wards, local governments, and up to the state level. If the system functions as intended, we are confident of victory across all 21 local government areas.”

He commended INEC for the timely commencement of voting and lauded residents for their orderly behaviour throughout the exercise.