The Young Progressives Party senatorial candidate in Anambra State, Oforbuike Okoli-Egbo, also argued that the prevailing economic hardship in the country had made voters more vulnerable to inducement.
The senatorial candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) in Anambra State, Oforbuike Okoli-Egbo, has alleged that the by-elections in the state were marred by financial inducement, with voters receiving between ₦15,000 and ₦20,000 to cast their ballot.
Okoli-Egbo said the development undermined the credibility of the exercise and was a departure from past elections in the state.
“What happened in Anambra is a heavily financially induced election. It has never been known that a voter is paid over ₦15,000 to ₦20,000 to cast their vote. That was what transpired,” he said on Channels Television’s Lunchtime Politics on Monday.
“The elections were marred with heavy financial inducement from APGA and the APC,” he alleged.
Okoli-Egbo, however, said his party maintained a strong base in the state, citing past electoral victories as proof of its influence.
“It’s not news that YPP has a stronghold and we won senatorial elections twice, two federal house seats, three state assembly seats. You will agree with me that it reflects the true will and mindset of the electorate in that region,” he stated.
He also argued that the prevailing economic hardship in the country had made voters more vulnerable to inducement.
“Now the economic realities in Nigeria today are not what you had a few years ago. So, how many people are going to resist ₦15,000 to ₦20,000 to get their votes?” Okoli-Egbo asked.
“My point is, the bulk of the blame goes to the electorate. They made their choice of selling their rights, selling their votes against good governance,” the YPP candidate added.
He added that when the YPP takes an official position on the election, he would make more categorical statements, but maintained that the level of vote buying witnessed cannot be ignored.
By-elections were held last Saturday for various legislative seats across 12 states. These bye-elections were conducted to fill vacant positions in the House of Representatives and State Assemblies. The elections saw the All Progressives Congress (APC) winning 12 out of 16 legislative seats contested, with other parties like the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) securing some seats as well.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared APGA’s Emmanuel Nwachukwu the winner of the by-election for Anambra South Senatorial District.
Nwachukwu scored 90,408 votes to defeat Azuka Okwuosa of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 19,847 votes, and Donald Amangbo of the African Democratic Congress, who got 2,889 votes.
Nwachukwu will replace Ifeanyi Ubah, the Anambra South Senator who died in July 2024.
INEC also declared APGA’s Ifeoma Azikiwe the winner of the by-election for the Onitsha North Constituency 1 in the Anambra State House of Assembly.
—
*Source: [https://www.channelstv.com/category/politics/](https://www.channelstv.com/category/politics/)*