By Onyinyechi Nwankwo
Dissatisfied with the outcome of the just concluded November 8 Anambra State Governorship election, the Labour Party (LP) candidate for the poll, Chief George Moghalu (Ahamadike), has accused the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) of weaponizing poverty among the citizens to win the election.
The aggrieved candidate, who spoke to journalists during a press conference at his residence in Nnewi, Onitsha, shortly after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the incumbent Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo of APGA, as the winner of the election, described the exercise as a “sham” that fell short of democratic standards.
Chief Moghalu stated that the election was marred by widespread irregularities ranging from vote buying, voter intimidation, and assault on polling agents to underaged voting in several areas, particularly in Idemili North and Obosi.
He lamented that despite reports and photographic evidence circulating on social media, the authorities failed to address the glaring misconducts that characterized the process.
He said the credibility of the entire election was undermined by what he termed the “weaponization of poverty,” which, according to him, made many citizens susceptible to financial inducement from political actors.
Moghalu noted that the level of vote buying witnessed during the poll reached an alarming height, despite the heavy deployment of security personnel across the state.
“The November 8 election has come and gone, and the truth about it is that the election was a sham. There were issues of vote buying, voter intimidation, agent battery, and underaged voting in places like Idemili North and Obosi. It was neither credible, free, nor fair. Poverty was weaponized so that people could easily be bought with money,” he said.
The LP Candidate expressed disappointment that the deployment of over 45,000 policemen, including more than 20 Commissioners of Police and their deputies, could not prevent massive vote buying and other electoral infractions, describing the entire process as “faulty” and “deeply compromised”.
He further accused INEC of failing in its duties by allegedly registering and issuing voter cards to underaged individuals, which he said amounted to a deliberate form of manipulation.
He also raised concern over the omission of the Labour Party’s name on the ballot paper, noting that only the party’s logo appeared, a situation he said could have confused many voters.
“I got reports that our party’s name was not on the ballot paper, only our logo. How did they expect a voter who is only familiar with our name and not the logo to identify it? We have to be told why this happened. Even the colour coding didn’t work in my polling unit, and I’m yet to confirm if it was the same in other areas,” he added.
The Labour Party candidate disclosed that both his campaign organization and the party leadership were compiling comprehensive reports from across the state and would soon release a detailed statement outlining their findings and position on the next line of action.
