But voter turnout was extremely low, according to INEC figures. Just 301,232 of 1.84 million registered voters took part, a figure partly explained by so many names being missed off the electoral register, local election observers said.

ELECTORAL REFORM NEEDED

Ngige rejected the result, while Soludo described it as a charade marred by "brazen manipulation." But he accepted defeat.

"Let me use this opportunity to congratulate my friend Mr Peter Obi. In spite of the grave flaws, INEC has declared you winner of the election. The fight is not about us but about the future of Anambra state. You will have my support," Soludo said.

Vice President Goodluck Jonathan nonetheless praised the conduct of the Anambra polls, saying "this was an indication that the electoral reforms of the present administration were beginning to have an effect on the nation's political culture."

I’ll support Obi – Soludo
From Geoffrey Anyanwu, Awka
Monday, February 8, 2010


•Prof. Chukwuma Soludo
Photo: Sun Publishing
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Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) standard bearer in Saturday’s guber polls in Anambra State, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo yesterday surprised the majority of the people of the state who thought he would be heading for the court to challenge the outcome of Saturday’s election when he declared that the governor-elect would have his support.

Making the declaration at a press briefing, Soludo who was adjudged the highest spender in the electioneering campaign stressed that inasmuch as INEC has declared Governor Peter Obi winner of the election despite the grave flaws, he would support him for the future of the state.

“Finally, let me use this opportunity to congratulate my friend, Mr. Peter Obi. In spite of the grave flaws, INEC has declared you the winner of the election. The fight is not about us, but about the future of Anambra State. You will have my support,” he said.

The PDP candidate, however, stated that they were not unaware of the unhidden hostility of INEC towards his candidature, adding that intelligence report came to them of INEC’s decision to return Mr Obi.

According to him, “we were never under any illusion as to the breadth and depth of the obstacles on our way. The fear of Soludo on the political saddle was palpable and the high-level conspiracy to stop Soludo was also very evident. INEC as the umpire never hid its hostility towards us as well as the fact that it was an interested party to stop Soludo. We received the intelligence report of the ‘decision’ to ‘return’ Peter Obi.

“Throughout the campaigns, we called for a free, fair and credible election. We even suggested the adoption of Option A-4 as we remain convinced that we will win landslide in any free and fair election in Anambra State.
“What happened on the 6th February portends ominous note for our democracy and adds another dangerous dimension to the rigging process. The voters register was fraudulently manipulated to exclude hundreds of thousands of voters who have valid voters card.
“Furthermore, in most places the voters’ register used at the polling booths were different from the ones displayed or given to the political parties.

Even people who had verified and confirmed their names during the display of voters register could not find their names at the polling booths. We are convinced that this manipulation was systematically designed to rig us out as the problem was most pronounced in PDP strongholds.
“We saw tens of thousands of our supporters stranded in every local government. We earlier complained about this fraud and we were assured that anyone with a valid voters’ card will be allowed to vote. We told our supporters but they were utterly disappointed. INEC officials confirmed to some of our associates that they came to Anambra with a mandate to ‘return’ APGA, and their brazen activities left no one in doubt.

“The brazen manipulation of voting and closing times, selective choice of which results to accept and which ones to cancel, and outright manipulation of the results in many cases designed to achieve the objective left the election results a charade. There was no voting in Obosi (a stronghold of PDP with about 45,000 registered voters); ward results in Aguata were cancelled and several manipulated to achieve set objective; the electoral officer for Idemili South local government admitted at the state collation centre that the result for Action Congress was inadvertently bloated by 10,000 because she was ‘sleepy’ and yet it was accepted; Onitsha South and Anaocha were a huge joke.
“There are serious concerns about the results in all the local governments. What happened in Anambra is what a friend has described as ‘administrative rigging’. Hundreds of thousands of people who turned out to vote and with their valid voters’ cards were disenfranchised. Can this be described as a ‘free and fair’ election? Curiously, all those on record to have dismissed the process as neither free nor fair during the voting have made a U-turn to hail it because the outcome is favourable to them. Was the first reaction a dummy to conceal the orchestrated plan?

“To the millions of Anambra people who are sad because they see the potentials for their brighter future being delayed, I ask you to cheer up. May we all keep our eyes on the ball. Despite the seeming temporary setback, I still have an abiding faith in the Anambra project. I strongly believe that 40 years after the Nigerian civil war, Anambra’s renaissance is inevitable. I believe that politics remains the only veritable avenue to ensuring enduring democracy and development. I have stepped out and will devote the rest of my life to public service.

“We remain deeply grateful to the President, Vice-President, the state governors, members of the National Working Committee and leadership of our great party, PDP, the leadership of the National Assembly, members of the campaign organisation and the election committee, our numerous financiers and stakeholders, our numerous friends and well-wishers, and millions of supporters. The road ahead is long, and by the grace of God, we shall overcome. The struggle for a better Anambra State and Nigeria has only just begun.
“This experience has among other things revealed to me how desperately Nigeria needs fundamental electoral reforms. A situation where INEC determines whether and where voters can exercise their right to vote as in the case of Anambra cannot augur well for our nascent democracy. Together, we can fix this problem”.

It's not like am against Obi's victory. But truth be told, the VP has a hand in his victory cos he saw Soludo /Andy/Ngige as threat to the presidential seat come 2011. Obi doesn't pose much of a threat to him and that's why he ensured his return. I don't know why we fail 2 look beyond our comfort zone. The whole thing was manipulated. Period!