Soludo, deputy to receive Certificate of Return Friday

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will on Friday present the Certificate of Return to the Anambra State governor-elect, Prof. Charles Soludo, and his deputy.

The National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

He said INEC met earlier on Thursday and conducted an initial review of the election held last Saturday, adding that the commission is awaiting the reports of all officials deployed for the poll “for an in-depth review of the processes.”

The commission had in the early hours of Wednesday declared Soludo who represented the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the election as the Anambra State governor-elect.

He scored 112,229 votes to defeat 17 other candidates including Vincent Ozigbo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) flag bearer, Andy Uba, in the election.

The statement read: “Following the conclusion of the election and as provided for in Section 75 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), certificates of return will be presented to the Governor-elect and Deputy Governor-elect tomorrow Friday 12th November 2021 at our State office in Awka.

READ ALSO: Secondus congratulates Soludo, praises INEC

“The 2021 Anambra State Governorship election was conducted under the most challenging circumstances. Never before did the Commission have to grapple with numerous issues ahead of an off-season Governorship election, including attacks on our facilities, withdrawals of critical service providers such as the ad hoc staff and transporters on the eve of the election, and the general tension pervading the atmosphere. Happily, the election passed off peacefully.

“The Commission expresses its gratitude to the security agencies, election duty officials, political parties and candidates, the National Peace Committee under the leadership of our former Head of State, His Excellency, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar GCFR, religious and community leaders, socio-cultural associations, civil society organisations and the media for the enormous sacrifice and support in ensuring that the election was conducted and peacefully concluded.”

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