Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu has emerged as the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate for the upcoming Anambra State election after winning the party’s primary with a resounding majority.
The primary election, which began Saturday and extended into the early hours of Sunday, ended with Ukachukwu securing 1,455 votes out of the 1,582 accredited delegates.
His closest rival, Valentine Ozigbo, garnered just 67 votes, while Johnbosco Onunkwo and Edozie Madu received 26 and 8 votes respectively. There were also 27 invalid votes recorded.
The results were announced at 4:19 a.m. on Sunday by the APC returning officer, Cross River State Governor Bassey Otu.
He described Ukachukwu as “the lion of APC in Anambra” and officially declared him the party’s flagbearer for the November 8 gubernatorial election, where he will challenge incumbent Governor Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
Otu commended the security agencies for maintaining peace throughout the process and praised the aspirants for their sportsmanship. “Power belongs to God. There’s no victor, no vanquished in today’s election. Our party had already agreed that whoever emerges will receive full support from all,” he said.
In his victory speech, Ukachukwu thanked President Bola Tinubu for ensuring a transparent and credible primary. “This is a new beginning, not the end. We must come together as one family because defeating the incumbent won’t be easy. But united, and with God’s help, we can do it,” he said.
Ukachukwu, who previously represented Abuja Municipal at the Federal House of Representatives in 1999, pledged to work towards delivering Anambra State to the APC. “I promise not to disappoint you,” he said.
The party had a total of 1,630 delegates, though 48 were absent during the accreditation process.
