Chukwuma Soludo, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was on Wednesday declared the winner of the governorship primaries of  a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) backed by Anambra governor Willie Obiano.

Declaring the results of the exercise, Samson Olalere, the Returning Officer, said Mr Soludo scored a total of 740 votes out of 792 valid votes cast by delegates to emerge as the party’s candidate for the November 6 governorship election.

He said further that the former Central Bank chief had fulfilled the provisions of Electoral Act and APGA guidelines.

Earlier in the day, another faction of the party led by Jude Okeke had announced the suspension of Mr Soludo and three others for “anti-party activities.”

But Mr Olalere said Mr Soludo beat his rivals, Rep Okwudili Ezenwakwo, Damian Okolo and Thankgod Ibeh who scored 41, 7 and 4 votes respectively.

He said a total of 812 delegates were registered out of which 795 accredited and 792 voted.

The returning officer issued the APGA candidate Certificate of Return after Mr Obiano, raised up Mr Soludo’s hand as the duly elected candidate of the party in the forthcoming election.

In his remark, Mr Obiano congratulated Soludo for his victory while calling on party faithful to continue to support the party.

In his acceptance speech, Mr Soludo said he was humbled by the overwhelming votes with which he emerged.

He thanked his co-contestants for their gallantry while extending an olive branch to them, adding that APGA is a big house with enough rooms to accommodate everyone.

He promised to build on the success of past administrations in the state if he eventually becomes the elected governor in November.

Mr Soludo thanked Mr Obiano for his leadership style and Dr Victor Oye, National Chairman of APGA under whom the party had grown to be the third strongest party in Nigeria.

In a reaction,  Chief Neville Uchendu, a chieftain of APGA told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the outcome of APGA primary was a tip of the iceberg on what would happen during the November 6 election.

“Soludo is greatly loved by the Anambra people and they will massively vote for him during the election,” he said.

Delegates for the election  had assembled at the popular Alex Ekwueme Square Awka, for accreditation before proceeding to  Professor Dora Akunyili Women Development Centre.

Heavy security presence was noticed at two locations in Awka even as journalists were refused entry into the two places.

(NAN)