APGA Wins Anambra South Senatorial and Onitsha North 1 Constituency Bye-Elections
By: IDNN Politics Desk
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has recorded a double victory in Anambra State, winning the Anambra South senatorial and Onitsha North 1 state constituency bye-elections conducted on Saturday.
In the senatorial contest, Chief Emmanuel Nwachukwu polled 90,408 votes to defeat Chief Azuka Okwuosa of the APC, who scored 19,812, and Donald Amamgbo of the ADC, who finished with 2,889 votes. The election was conducted to fill the vacant seat left by the late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah.
Nwachukwu, a former President-General of Ukpor Town Union in Nnewi South, becomes the first politician from the area to occupy the seat since the return of democracy in 1999. His victory also makes him only the second APGA senator from Anambra, alongside Senator Victor Umeh, with Enyinnaya Abaribe representing Abia South as the party’s only other voice in the National Assembly.
In the Onitsha North 1 state constituency, Barrister Ifeoma Azikiwe secured 7,774 votes to defeat Mrs. Justina Azuka of the ADC, who scored 1,909. The win makes Azikiwe the second female legislator in the 30-member Anambra House of Assembly.
The election, however, was not without tension. Deputy Governor Onyekachukwu Ibezim and Environment Commissioner Felix Odumegwu were attacked by suspected thugs in Nnewi South but narrowly escaped harm after being held hostage for over an hour.
Governor Chukwuma Soludo condemned the violence, accusing APC governorship candidate Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu of sponsoring thugs. APGA’s national spokesman, Mazi Ejimofor Opara, echoed the accusation, describing the attack as an attempt to disrupt the polls.
Ukachukwu’s camp denied the allegations, claiming the Deputy Governor stormed the area with armed security to influence voters.
Despite the frictions, INEC officials commended the conduct of voters in many polling areas, noting a generally peaceful turnout across much of the state.
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