Anambra Elections: Don’t Overlook Governor Soludo’s Cash For Votes Pledge

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to investigate and not ignore the alleged attempts by Governor Charles Soludo to financially influence voters ahead of the November 8 election.

At a campaign rally on Saturday, Soludo had announced a cash reward for every ward won by the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) under whose platform he would contest the forthcoming governorship election in the state.

“When we were campaigning for the Senate, we knew we were going to win every ward in the South Senatorial Zone, but we still had some incentives. Any ward that APGA won received N1 million, and we won all the wards in Orumba South.

“We promised each of these wards N1 million, and next week, we will redeem it. For November 8, any ward that wins again will receive N1 million, while the first three performing wards will get N5 million, N2 million, and N1 million respectively,” he told the crowd at Umunze, Orumba South Local Government Area, on Saturday.

Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC National Publicity Secretary in his reaction, said it was clear that the governor had lost confidence of the people.

“Ahead of the November 8th election, Soludo has clearly lost the confidence of the people of Anambra, and it shows.”

“Only a sitting governor who has run out of public goodwill would so openly resort to cash for votes, in direct violation of Sections 121 and 127 of the Electoral Act, which criminalise voter inducement of any form.

“This is a new level of desperation, wrapped in impunity, and I hope that INEC is not pretending not to see it.”