As Anambra State prepares for Saturday’s highly anticipated bye-elections, the Labour Party (LP) caucus in the National Assembly has accused Governor Chukwuma Soludo of allegedly planning to deploy non-state security operatives and thugs to influence the outcome.
The elections, which will fill the Onitsha North 1 State Assembly seat and the Anambra South senatorial zone, are expected to be fiercely contested. In a joint statement, the LP lawmakers—comprising two senators and six House members—urged top security officials to collaborate with the Nigerian Police to ensure voters can exercise their franchise safely and without intimidation.
The caucus, represented by Senators Victor Umeh and Tony Nwoye and six House members, claimed that information at their disposal suggests the governor and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) plan to use state security agents, including Udogachi and the crude revenue enforcers known as Ndi Aka Odo, to dominate polling units. The lawmakers warned that allowing the governor to oversee security arrangements would give APGA candidates an unfair advantage.
“The whole essence of democratic governance revolves around freedom of choice, made possible by free and fair elections,” the statement read. They called on the National Security Adviser, the Army, the DSS, and the NSCDC to fully deploy their personnel to restore voter confidence and ensure the safety of everyone involved in the process.
The LP lawmakers described the bye-elections as a litmus test for Nigeria’s commitment to credible, peaceful elections. They particularly condemned what they called “the desperation of Governor Soludo and the APGA-led state government” in the Onitsha North constituency, noting the tragic circumstances surrounding the previous representative’s death.
“As a people, we must ensure that all participants—candidates, parties, observers, and the media—play by the rules,” the statement concluded, emphasizing that the integrity of the electoral process must be upheld.
