The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the just concluded Anambra gubernatorial election, Valentine Ozigbo, has conceded defeat to the eventual winner, Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressive Grand Alliance.
Ozigbo in a congratulatory message on Wednesday said he had called Soludo and congratulated him on being declared the winner of the election, adding that he prayed for his success.
He, however, accused the Independent National Electoral Commission of presenting untrained and poorly trained staff who could not handle electoral machines.
”They failed woefully in providing logistical support for their staff and so elections started very late in many places and did not hold in many others,” he said.
Ozigbo also accused security agencies of providing a peaceful atmosphere for campaigns and failure to provide security at polling units on election day, ”leading to elections not holding or held in situations that allowed for chaos and fraud.”
He added; ”The use of government funds and resources to corrupt, coerce, and intimidate voters, PDP party agents, and electoral officials was a major factor in determining the outcome of this election.
”All of these led to the disenfranchisement of the greater percentage of voters and staining the course of democracy. I will be dedicating time to champion the positive change we need to ensure that future elections are truly free and fair and that the will of the electorate prevails.
”Denominational politics was also a factor. We need to do a lot more to ensure that competence is never sacrificed on this altar and that democracy is practised in line with its truest tenets.
”In all, I am more determined to work for a better future for our children by remaining in active politics and rebuilding our party to be more united and more robust for those who come after us.”
Ozigbo thanked his supporters and all the Anambra people for the supports given to him during the electioneering.
