Professor Chukwuma Soludo, Anambra State governor–elect, has described the woman who rejected the bribe of N5,000 to influence her voting during the just concluded governorship election as exhibiting the true spirit of a typical Anambra person.
The woman, Mrs Ngozi Onuegbusi from Ukwulu in Dunukofia local government area rejected the offer, insisting that although she did not have N5000, she would never accept any gratification that would make her vote against her conscience.
Governor Willie Obiano gifted the woman with N1 million in appreciation of her action.
Speaking yesterday after receiving his certificate of return at the state headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Awka, Soludo said the woman had made Anambra State proud.
Soludo said: “At this moment, I summarize the action of the woman of Ukwulu who rejected N5000 to influence her voting as a metaphor that represents the spirit of Anambra. The woman said I am poor; I don’t have any money in my pocket, but I won’t take N5000. That is the spirit of Anambra and her action is the resilience of the Anambra spirit”.
Speaking on his victory in the election, the governor –elect further said: “This is the moment and the hour has come. God knew that at this hour, my deputy and I will have these certificates in our hands. We thank God for making this day. This is Anambra, the Light of the Nation. This is the state that helped to bring democracy in Nigeria. This is the state of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Dr.Nwafor Orizu, Sir Loius Ojukwu, Professor Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Adichie and many others”.
“We can never take for granted the determination of the various institutions that saw us to this day, starting from the presidency, the president himself and the security agencies for insisting on a level -playing field and we want to say that the era when some people would sit somewhere and write results is over.
“In the build up to the election, there were tense moments because we were told repeatedly that some people said they had decided to conquer and take Anambra, In Anambra we don’t take, we make the people to vote. And I am glad that the federal agencies, from the presidency and the national institutions, insisted on ensuring free and fair election.
“I have to single out two institutions namely, the judiciary and INEC because as part of this process, the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, stood out to ensure the integrity of the judiciary. Without that, we won’t be here today. It’s a long story.
