Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State has taken swipe at former governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, following the dismal performance of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Saturday’s by-elections.
Obi, who has distanced himself from the leadership crisis rocking the Labour Party, had openly campaigned for ADC candidates, urging his supporters to vote for them.
However, the party suffered heavy losses across the state.
In the Anambra South Senatorial District race, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate, Emmanuel Nwachukwu, winner with 90,408 votes.
He defeated the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Azuka Okwuosa, who scored 19,847 votes, while ADC’s Donald Amangbo polled only 2,889 votes.
Nwachukwu will take over the seat left vacant after the death of Senator Ifeanyi Ubah in July 2024.
APGA further consolidated its hold on the state as its candidate, Ifeoma Azikiwe, also won the Onitsha North Constituency 1 House of Assembly by-election.
Reacting to the outcome at an event in Nanka, Soludo taunted Obi and dismissed both ADC and Labour Party as irrelevant in Anambra politics.
“The ADC does not exist in Anambra. We showed it yesterday. Labour Party is dead,” the governor declared.
He pointed out that despite Obi’s involvement in canvassing support for ADC candidates, voters overwhelmingly rejected them.
Soludo, who is preparing to seek a second term on the APGA platform in November 2025, said the outcome of the polls was a strong indication that the people of Anambra remain solidly behind his party.
“They wanted to use it as a test case for this new concoction called ADC in Anambra, but the people spoke loudly with over 75 percent. The message is clear: both ADC and Labour Party are non-existent in this state,” he added.