18th August 2025
By
Ikenna Obianeri
The candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the Anambra South Senatorial by-election, Azuka Okwuosa, has rejected the results of the senatorial elections held in the seven local government areas in the zone on Saturday, August 16, 2025, alleging rigging and other electoral malpractices.
Okwuosa accused APGA of using security operatives and some officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission to allegedly sabotage the electoral process and described the exercise as a “severe blow to the country’s democratic integrity”.
In the result announced by the INEC Returning Officer, Prof. Frank Ojiako, APGA’s Emmanuel Nwachukwu emerged winner with 90,408 votes to defeat the APC candidate, Okwuosa, who scored 19,847 votes and Donald Amamgbo of the African Democratic Congress, who got 2,889 votes.
Reacting to the conduct and outcome of the elections in a press conference in Oraifite, Ekwusigo Local Government Area of the state, on Sunday, he described the exercise as a “charade, a rape on the people’s mandate”, and nothing but an “embarrassment” to democracy.
He alleged that APGA, the ruling party and the state government deployed the state security apparatus of Operation Udo-ga-chi and Agunechemba in allegedly intimidating, harassing voters and manipulating the process to its advantage.
He said, “Saturday’s election in all seven local government areas that made up Anambra South Senatorial district lacked integrity, competence, neutrality and moral standing.
” It should be rejected, and the results should not stand on moral grounds.
“What we witnessed was a total charade and a deliberate sabotage where the state government and APGA used the state security apparatus of ‘Operation Udo-ga-chi’ and other state actors to create an unfair advantage for themselves and rendered the entire process compromised.
“Even when the Nigerian Police banned Operation Udo-ga-chi from participating in the elections, they were all over the places harassing, intimidating and laying siege to voters, when they were supposed to be protecting the people against kidnappers in a state where kidnappers and gunmen have been unleashing terror on the people.
“The people deserve elections that are free, fair, and credible and not exercises where the outcome is predetermined and compromised. Until our elections are adequately prepared for and conducted transparently, it will remain under siege.
“Saturday’s election took off as expected, and my party was coasting to victory when suddenly over 300 Operatives of the Udo-ga-chi group, made up of people with questionable characters, started invading all seven local governments across Anambra South Senatorial zone.”
He also alleged that operation Udo-ga-chi equally laid siege to his residence and prevented him from casting vote, saying that he was lucky to have cast his vote before their arrival.
According to him, his political party highlighted the possibility of the incident before the commencement of the election, noting that they were aware that the State’s ruling party, APGA, had made it clear that they would use all the state apparatus to intimidate and coax voters.
“They blocked me with over 300 operatives of the Udo Gachi group, with a lot of miscreants covering their faces, wielding AK-47s with dangerous weapons like knives and axes. Everything was captured in CCTV. The Area Commander of Oraifite was assisted by the president-general of Oraifite Town Union, and also the local government Chairman of Ekwusigo and a House of Assembly member.
“They were all at the point of besieging my house and trying to destroy every property in my house. I never knew that the state governor would descend so low to collaborate with all these entities and a converged assemblage of miscreants and people of questionable character just to capture the by-elections.
“The conduct of Saturday’s by-elections in Anambra was a complete rape of democracy. All the incidents are captured on camera. I had no doubt in my mind that I won the election. It is a serious concern that such a level of mayhem would happen in all seven local government areas simultaneously, including Orumba North and South LGAs, Aguata, Nnewi North and South LGAs, among others.
“I feel obliged to address members of the public through the media to know the situation. I urged my supporters to remain calm and asked them not to take the law into their own hands because the level of mayhem was unprecedented.
“I know that people have the right to defend themselves, but I thanked God for my prevailing over my supporters not to retaliate.
“The state governor has failed, and the system in the state under his care has also failed. He has plugged the state into insecurity. The function of every state government is to protect the lives and properties of its citizens, but the Anambra State government under Prof. Chukwuma Soludo has failed to restore security and safety of lives and property as well as the economy of Ndi Anambra,” he added.
