The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, said he had no doubt that the Anambra people have made an excellent choice by voting for the candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Prof Charles Soludo.
In a congratulatory message from his Media Office on Wednesday in Abuja, the Minister said Prof Soludo’s victory was well deserved.
Ngige congratulated the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), stating the people of the state have spoken.
The statement partly reads: “Ndi-Anambra has spoken with this resounding victory. Having contested in 2010 with Soludo, who was then the PDP candidate and myself in ACN; an election in which I was ‘awarded’ the second position even though I won outright and Soludo third, I knew that with his tenacity of purpose and drive, he would one day make it to the seat of the Governor of Anambra State.
It is a case in patience and endurance, an aspiration nurtured to serve the people with all his strength, I seriously believe. Ndi-Anambra I know, will hence, entertain no excuses. Much has been given hence the expectation is very high. Knowing Soludo as I do, however, I have no doubt that our people have made an excellent choice by voting him.”
The Minister also hailed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conducting a “free, fair and credible election, even with the initial hiccups posed by the malfunctioning of the Biometric Voters Accreditation (BVAS) system in some places.”
According to the Minister, a solid opportunity has been offered to the commission to brace up to the challenges posed by the Anambra Election, especially with the debut of the BVAS technology for more credible, free, and fair elections in the future.
He added: “The election has come and gone and it is very free, fair, and credible. Mr. President has indeed lived true to his assurances to Ndi-Anambra and by this very fact, demonstrated once again, that he is no enemy to Ndi-Igbo. What a better value to democracy, than a legacy of credible elections, in which the will of the people reigns supreme. May we, therefore, hail this true democrat.”
Ngige appealed to all those who contested the election with Prof Soludo to sheath their swords.
“Only one person would emerge a winner in this contest, more so, when the seat of the Governor of Anambra State can only be occupied by one person at any given time. I, therefore, urge the other candidates to be good losers and join hands with the Governor-elect to give the state the best.
As an elder statesman in the state, I have no choice but to irrevocably stand with my dear Ndi-Anambra in their desire for unfettered freedom to choose their leaders. It is a legacy we must bequeath to the posterity of our people.”
