Anambra 2026: Reactions as APGA Secures All Chairmanship, Councillorship Seats in LG Election
- ANSIEC chair declared APGA winners of all 21 chairmanship seats and 326 councillorship positions in the August 29 Anambra LGA election
- YPP's collation agent disclosed that party members were barred from accessing voting materials in Anambra East, where gunshots were reported
- Several newly elected LGA mayors spoke exclusively to Legit.ng, with reactions ranging from praise for the process to sharp allegations of compromise
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Awka, Anambra state - The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) swept all 21 local government chairmanship seats and all 326 councillorship positions in the Anambra local government election held on Saturday, August 29, 2026, according to results declared the following day.
Mrs. Chinelo Genevieve Osakwe, chairman of the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC), announced the results on Sunday, August 30, at the commission's headquarters in Awka. She said the election was peaceful, free, fair, transparent, and credible, and that the commission acted with impartiality and fidelity to the law throughout the exercise.
Source: Original
Osakwe explained that voting in 20 of the 21 local government areas followed a "Yes" or "No" format, with results collated from polling units, wards, and local government levels before being declared. Anambra East was the exception, where APGA faced a direct contest against the Young Progressive Party (YPP).
In that contest, APGA's chairmanship candidate, Ifeanyi Chinweze, received 50,169 votes against the YPP candidate's 1,658 votes.
Anambra LG chairmen praise council elections
In exclusive interviews with Legit.ng's correspondent in Anambra, several newly elected chairmen described the exercise in positive terms.
The Mayor-elect for Njikoka LGA, Ikechukwu Okeakpu, called the process credible and transparent, commending ANSIEC for conducting the election. He pledged to support Governor Chukwuma Soludo's goal of making Anambra a livable and prosperous state.
Source: UGC
ThankGod Chibuike Anago, re-elected for a second term as Mayor of Awka North LGA, credited Governor Soludo for strengthening grassroots democracy and praised voters for their peaceful behaviour throughout the day.
The Mayor-elect for Onitsha South LGA, Ikechukwu Peter Mofunanya, thanked residents for their trust and said the process had deepened citizens' confidence in local democracy. Mayor-elect for Idemili South LGA, Oluchukwu Ilogbenu, described his election as the voice of the people and promised to leave Idemili South better than he found it.
YPP alleges poll irregularities in Anambra East
The YPP offered a sharply different account of what happened in Anambra East. The party's Local Government Collation Agent, Charles Ifediorah, told Legit.ng that YPP effectively boycotted the election after its members were denied access to voting materials at the local government premises.
"We assembled in Otuocha to monitor distribution of electoral materials, incidentally, our party members were refused entry into the local government premises to access voting materials.
"Security agencies aided the compromised process, and I was not even allowed to enter the inner room where the election materials were kept and distributed," Ifediorah said.
Furthermore, he alleged that sporadic gunshots were fired near the local government headquarters to intimidate YPP supporters, adding that a female party supporter identified as Ijeoma sustained injuries from the gunshots and was taken to hospital.
ANSIEC did not address the YPP's specific allegations in its official declaration.
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Anambra senator, Ifeanyi Ubah, dies
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Ifeanyi Ubah, the senator who represented Anambra South, died of a cardiac arrest in London at the age of 52.
He was said to have departed Nigeria for the United Kingdom (UK) two days earlier.
A close family source said he died in a hospital where he went for surgery.
Source: Legit.ng
Ridwan Adeola Yusuf (Current Affairs Editor) Ridwan Adeola Yusuf is a content writer with more than nine years of experience, He is also a Current Affairs Editor at Legit.ng. He holds a Higher National Diploma in Mass Communication from the Polytechnic Ibadan, Oyo State (2014). Ridwan previously worked at Africa Check, contributing to fact-checking research works within the organisation. He is an active member of the Academic Excellence Initiative (AEI). In March 2024, Ridwan completed the full Google News Initiative Lab workshop and his effort was recognised with a Certificate of Completion. Email: ridwan.adeola@corp.legit.ng.
Mokwugo Solomon (Anambra State Correspondent) Anambra's regional correspondent Mokwugwo Solomon is an Editor, Investigative Journalist, and Media Consultant, with a wealth of experience spanning 17 years. He bagged his B/Ed degree in English Education from University of Abuja, now Yakubu Gowon University. After 17 years in various areas of journalism, Mokwugwo Solomon is now the Correspondent of Legit.ng in Anambra State, Nigeria, where he applies his expertise to provide incisive coverage of events. Contact him at: mokwugwosolomon@gmail.com OR: +2348063831036.
