Chukwuma Soludo, the governor of Anambra state, has been officially nominated as the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate for the upcoming governorship election.

Soludo, who was returned unopposed, secured over 3,000 votes in the primary held on Saturday at the Ekwueme square, Awka.

Voting took place across the 21 local government areas of the state, where delegates were asked to cast a simple “yes” or “no” vote.

“Total delegates for this election is 3,260; 3,175 were accredited; 3,172 total votes cast, with four invalid votes,” Uche Nwegbo, chairman of the electoral panel, said.

“The governor received 3,168 yes-votes and no no-votes. By the powers conferred on me, I hereby declare Prof. Chukwuma Soludo as the candidate of our party.”

Soludo accepted the nomination and assured party members of continued development in the state.

“I want to say that I am humbled by this historic display of solidarity to be able to raise the flag of our party again, and I want to say that I accept this nomination wholeheartedly,” he said.

“Anambra keeps rising with the progressive leadership that we have had through APGA, and I will continue to appreciate the leadership of the party.

“I appreciate the members of our party and the INEC observers. I do not think that we have ever had this kind of peaceful election where everything was orderly and in one hour everyone was able to cast their votes.

“In 2021, Anambra interviewed all the candidates and employed me, and all through the journey, three years down the line, you have been able to give us support. That is why we have been able to do what we do, which people say is magical. We are doing this without borrowing one Naira, and I know we will continue to do even more, and we continue to ask for your prayers.

“We are only at the introductory stage; Anambra has not seen anything yet. I appreciate the citizens and captains of industries who have been supporting us, and we will keep growing higher and higher.

“I appreciate the support groups, especially all that endorsed us for a second term. They are still coming up with more donations to the campaigns, and I thank those market women who are still eager to donate to our campaign. Many political parties have declared support for us, and never in Anambra State have we ever had a consensus like what we have today.

“When I took oath of office, I promised not to let Anambra down, not to let my supporters down, not to let my family down, and not to let APGA down. We are working 247 to ensure that. Many people have said we do not have any opposition, but I say that we will not only win all 21 local governments but also the 326 wards. Someone said we should even aim for all the polling units in the state. We want to make a statement.”

Soludo said he would retain Onyeka Ibezim, the deputy governor, as his running mate for the November 8 election.

“In 2017, I gave a lecture which I titled ‘If it is not broken, why mend it’, and it became popular. Today, I want to say that I am renominating Dr Onyeka Ibezim as my deputy governorship candidate for the election. If it is not broken, why mend it? I want to say that the battle has only begun,” he added