Governor Chukwuma Soludo has secured a second term in office until 2030 after being declared the winner of the November 8, 2025, Anambra State governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The results, announced in the early hours of Sunday by the State Returning Officer and Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin, Professor Omoregie Edoba, showed that Soludo achieved a landslide victory, winning across all 21 local government areas of the state.
“I hereby declare that Soludo Charles Chukwuma of the APGA, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” Professor Edoba announced at the INEC state headquarters in Awka.
Soludo, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), secured 422,664 votes to defeat his closest rival, Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 99,445 votes. Paul Chukwuma of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) came third with 37,753 votes, while John Nwosu of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) scored 8,208 votes. George Moghalu of the Labour Party (LP) and Jude Ezenwafor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) garnered 10,576 votes and 1,401 votes respectively.
INEC reported that out of 2,788,864 registered voters, 598,229 were accredited for the election. Of the total 595,298 votes cast, 584,054 were valid while 11,244 were rejected. Shortly after the announcement, jubilation broke out at Soludo’s residence in Isuofia, Aguata Local Government Area, where supporters celebrated his re-election.
Sixteen political parties contested the election. Apart from Soludo and Ukachukwu, other candidates included Paul Chukwuma of the YPP, John Nwosu of the ADC, George Moghalu of the LP, Echezona Oti of the Allied People’s Movement (APM), Ms. Chioma Ifemeludike of the African Action Congress (AAC), Jeff Nweke of Action Alliance (AA), Charles Onyeze of Accord Party (AP), Geoff Onyejegbu of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Jude Ezenwafor of the PDP, Chukwudubem Nweke of the Action Peoples Party (APP), Jerry Okeke of the Boot Party (BP), Ndidi Olieh of the National Rescue Movement (NRM), Martin Ugwoji of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and Vincent Chukwurah of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Soludo was first elected governor on November 10, 2021, winning in 19 of the 21 local government areas. His re-election extends APGA’s 19-year hold on power in Anambra State. The 65-year-old former Central Bank of Nigeria governor campaigned on consolidating his first-term achievements while pledging to improve security and economic stability in the state.
The election, conducted across the 21 local government areas, was largely peaceful but marked by reports of voter apathy and allegations of vote-buying. About 45,000 police personnel were deployed to ensure security during the exercise. Several candidates, including Soludo, raised concerns over the monetisation of the process. “If there’s no seller, there cannot be a buyer. Some people have chosen to sell their conscience, which is even worse than those who buy votes. When you give up your right to money, you lose your voice as a citizen. You can’t cry later; society must be blamed for encouraging this,” Ukachukwu of the APC said.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) confirmed the arrest of three suspects for alleged vote-buying and announced plans to charge them in court. However, INEC dismissed claims of widespread malpractice, insisting there was no verifiable evidence to support the allegations. “When the two strongest candidates went to vote, they mentioned vote-buying. But like I said during voter education, anyone with such information should provide facts and figures. Vote-buying is a very serious offence and a legislative matter. If you want to accuse someone, give us evidence,” said the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner for Anambra, Queen Agwu.
INEC reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and confirmed that all results were uploaded to its results viewing portal (IReV). With the official declaration, Soludo and his deputy, Onyeka Ibezim, who both ran on the same ticket in 2021, are expected to receive their certificates of return in the coming days, marking the beginning of another four-year term for the APGA administration in Anambra State.
