The Labour Party (LP) candidate in the just-concluded Anambra State governorship election, George Moghalu, has attributed his loss in his polling unit to widespread vote-buying by some of the candidates.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Moghalu said he refused to participate in vote-buying despite knowing it affected his chances. He explained that other candidates had “too much money to buy votes,” while many voters succumbed due to financial hardship.
“Yes, because I couldn’t afford how much that was being paid. I couldn’t pay, and I refused to pay, I refused to get involved,” he said. “So, they have too much money to buy votes, and what do you expect my people to do? They fell because a lot of them are poor.”
Moghalu accused the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) of being the main culprit behind the alleged vote-buying, claiming that several party agents wearing APGA tags were caught purchasing votes.
“Some of them are on record as having been seen purchasing votes. There’s even a commissioner who was also caught on camera buying votes in my particular constituency,” he alleged.
The LP candidate further described the outcome of the poll as not reflective of the will of the people, insisting that he would have emerged victorious in a free and fair election.
Governor Charles Soludo of APGA was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), having secured a landslide victory across all 21 local government areas in the state. Soludo polled 422,664 votes, while his closest rival, Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), got 99,445 votes.
Paul Chukwuma of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) followed with 37,753 votes, George Moghalu of the Labour Party polled 10,576 votes, John Nwosu of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) secured 8,208 votes, and Jude Ezenwafor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) trailed with 1,401 votes.
What You Should Know
George Moghalu, the Labour Party candidate and former Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), contested against incumbent Governor Charles Soludo of APGA.
He maintains that massive vote-buying and voter poverty undermined the integrity of the election results.
