Soludo Calls Election Victory ‘Divine Mandate’ As INEC Insists No Going Back On BVAS

Anambra State Governor-elect, Mr Charles Soludo, has said his victory at the poll in the just concluded election in the state was a divine mandate.

Soludo, stated this while receiving his certificate of return from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Awka.

He was elected on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA.

Speaking shortly after receiving the certificate, the Governor-elect announced to his waiting supporters that, “I have just received my certificate of return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“Thank you Ndị Anambra for the overwhelming support. This divine mandate shall be deployed for the good of the Anambra public and humanity at large.

“Who can battle with the Lord?”

In his remarks after the presentation of the certificate, the Supervising National Commissioner for Anambra State, Mr Festus Okoye, said it was a challenge conducting the election.

He noted that the election was conducted in a challenging environment accentuated by fear, anxiety and uncertainty occasioned by political agitation in the southeast geopolitical zone.

According to him, “Agitations of this kind occurs often in multi-ethnic and multi-cultural political settings where identities are politically mobilized in the struggle for power and resources and sometimes in the desire for a just and equitable society.

“The significant point to note, however, is that the Commission has remained firm and resolute in proceeding with the election based on its understanding of section 178 of the Constitution which circumscribed the conduct of elections within a firm and immovable constitutional compass.

“The consequences of aborting the election would have been a serious constitutional crisis and political uncertainty that could have further threatened Nigeria’s stability and survival.”

Expressing happiness that the election was adjudged as meeting regional standards of free and fair election, adding that it was a clear affirmation that Nigerians and the citizens of Anambra State in particular believed in democracy, not only as a means of addressing the numerous development challenges, but also a framework for the resolution of the multifarious dimensions of the National Question.

He informed that the Commission will audit the conduct of the election in order to reflect on things that worked well and those that failed to work as desired, and use the lessons learned in the preparation for the next set of elections.

“It is in this regard and the benefits offered by the Electoral Cycle Approach adopted by the Commission that we now believe that the present trends of conducting elections imbued with integrity has become irreversible,” he noted.

Speaking on the the novel introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), he said the challenges and criticisms that followed the deployment had been noted and the Commission will improve on it.

He said the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System will remain a fundamental feature of the accreditation process as it will consign into the dustbin of history worrisome incidents of multiple voting and identity theft that in the past denied the country’s electoral process the desired public trust and confidence.

He said the Commission will continue to improve and perfect the technology for subsequent and future elections.