All Progressives Congress (APC) hopeful Nicholas Ukachukwu dominated his home polling unit Saturday in Nigeria’s Anambra governorship election, pocketing over 230 votes to the incumbent’s meagre 10, even as he slammed rampant inducements threatening the ballot’s integrity.
Declaring victory at Polling Unit 12, Ward 2, Umudiala village in Osumenyi, Nnewi South, Ukachukwu’s haul — 108 in Booth 1 and 126 in Booth 2 — dwarfed All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) rival Charles Soludo’s showing of four and six votes respectively, as announced by presiding officer Ifeanyi Chukwu Chikams Peace around 4:00 pm.
The early triumph buoyed the shipping magnate-turned-politician, who had voted earlier amid praise for the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) punctual rollout. “Exercising my civic right is proof that I am qualified to vote and be voted for,” Ukachukwu told reporters, underscoring his eligibility in the 16-candidate scrum to unseat Soludo after three years in office.
Yet elation soured into alarm over alleged vote-trading, which Ukachukwu branded “the biggest menace that will witch-hunt this country to a standstill.” He warned: “It will come to a point where leaders, who have the opportunity to be in power, will not be able to do anything,” citing agent assaults in Utuh and pleas for security crackdowns. “From what I have been hearing, there have been reports of hitches and security challenges but largely, there have been vote buying,” he added, drawing from field updates.
Despite the “bad practice,” Ukachukwu urged collective rebuke and vowed optimism: “I believe God that winning is still possible because the day is still young.”
INEC, fresh under chairman Joash Amupitan, earned nods for streamlining logistics, with biometric accreditation humming and no major hitches at Ukachukwu’s site. As collation ramps up statewide — pitting APC against APGA, PDP and Labour Party frontrunners — the episode spotlights vote-buying’s grip on Nigeria’s democracy, even in a poll observers elsewhere hailed as serene.
