Professor Charles Soludo, the Governor-elect of Anambra State, has termed his victory in the November 6 governorship election as a victory for the people.
Shortly after the Returning Officer for the election pronounced him the winner early on Wednesday morning, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) delivered a statement headlined "A Divine Journey Whose Time Has Come."

God, party members, supporters, INEC, security agencies, the presidency, and many others all played a role in not only guaranteeing his victory, but also in ensuring the election was held successfully despite the early anxieties and problems, according to his victory speech.

"There is enough room for everyone to contribute in the service of our motherland," Soludo stated in his victory address, adding, "That's the Anambra way!" Soludo extended a hand of fellowship to other candidates in the election, reminding them that the state is greater than them all. Let us maintain the "Anambra spirit" alive and well."

He emphasized that, despite initial technological hurdles, particularly with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), INEC should not abandon its efforts to implement technology in future elections, but rather improve them.

The Governor-elect also paid tribute to all those who died, particularly the three police officers who were killed by unknown gunmen during a town hall meeting with teenagers during his campaign.

Read complete text of his victory speech below: 

The run-up to this election and the election itself tested the resilience and integrity of our federal institutions. Many times there were tensions especially as one party boasted that it must “take” or “conquer” Anambra by all means.

“Our institutions proved again and again that this country can achieve eminent greatness when our institutions rise up to the occasion. The judiciary, led by the President of the Court of Appeal and the Chief Justice of Nigeria, stood for the integrity of the judiciary.

“We salute the eminent justices of the Anambra High court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court for standing up for justice. Your names will be written in gold. We thank President Buhari, the presidency, and our security agencies for ensuring a level playing field.

“We must particularly commend the Chairman, Management and staff of INEC for systematically striving to bequeath a legacy of free, fair and transparent electoral system to Nigeria. The use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) represents a massive improvement over the Card Reader and manual accreditation system.