By Gideon Njoku
After taking a comprehensive look at the November, 6, 2021, Anambra State Governorship election, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Andy Uba, said he would survive his fate because he had seen worse.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Professor Charles Soludo, the winner. Soludo won 19 out of the 21 Local Government Areas, and scored at least 25 per cent in the remaining two.
Senator Uba won no Local Government Area. He came a distant third in the election.
But addressing a Press Conference on Sunday, November 14, Uba said he would survive what many people say is an embarrassing performance at the polls. He said he had seen worse. And that power belongs to God.
Uba: “As a Governor, I was removed after 17 days of being sworn-in by the Supreme Court of Nigeria and I did not die. So, the current development won’t hurt me. Power belongs to God and Him alone determines who He would entrust it to. This, I can assure you.”
Uba was removed as the Governor then by the Supreme Court on the grounds that there was no vacancy since the incumbent Governor, Peter Obi, had not exhausted his four-year term in office. Obi’s tenure, the Apex Court ruled, began on the day he was sworn-in as Governor.
However, having said that, Uba said he would proceed to court to challenge the declaration of Soludo as winner. He said the election was fraught with fraud and irregularities. And that the only way to seek justice is to challenge the outcome in Court.
Uba: “Investigations show that there are sufficient grounds for me and the party to challenge the declaration of the APGA candidate, Soludo, as winner of the election by INEC and that the ideal thing to do in the face of such discovery is to approach the Tribunal for redress.
“We will be heading to Court with the discoveries we have which shows that the declaration of Soludo as Governor-elect is faulty.”
Considering the high profile defections from APGA and the PDP to the APC, just before the election, many had thought Uba would carry the day. But APGA has an explanation for Uba’s disappointing performance.
The defectors deceived Uba, the Party offered.
A number of people and organisations, including the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, have advised Uba not to challenge the result of the election. Many APC chieftains in Anambra have congratulated Soludo on his victory. And so has President Muhammadu Buhari, the National leader of Uba’s APC. Buhari said he would work very well with Soludo who, incidentally, is a member of Buhari’s Economic Team. The President noted that in his congratulatory letter to Soludo.
