The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has swept the two by-elections conducted in Anambra State on Saturday, winning both the Anambra South senatorial seat and the Onitsha North 1 state constituency.
Announcing the results on Sunday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Chief Emmanuel Nwachukwu the winner of the Anambra South senatorial contest and Barrister Ifeoma Azikiwe victorious in the Onitsha North race.
Nwachukwu, a former President-General of Ukpor Town Union in Nnewi South Local Government Area, polled 90,408 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Chief Azuka Okwuosa of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Okwuosa secured just under 20,000 votes, while Donald Amamgbo of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) finished third with 2,889. INEC noted that the poll was contested by over a dozen parties to fill the vacancy created by the death of Senator Ifeanyi Ubah.
The victory marks a political milestone for Ukpor, as Nwachukwu becomes the first person from the community to represent Anambra South in the Senate since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999. He also joins Senator Victor Umeh of Anambra Central as one of two APGA senators from the state. Nationally, APGA has only one other senator, Enyinnaya Abaribe of Abia South.
In Onitsha North 1 constituency, Barrister Azikiwe polled 7,774 votes to secure her seat in the State House of Assembly. She defeated Mrs. Justina Azuka of the ADC, who scored 1,909 votes, while APC’s Ezennia Ojekwe and the Young Progressives Party’s Njideka Ndiwe trailed with 1,371 and 655 votes respectively. With her victory, Azikiwe becomes the second female lawmaker in the current 30-member Anambra Assembly.
The contest carried an emotional weight as Mrs. Azuka, the ADC candidate, is the widow of the late lawmaker Hon. Justice Azuka. His abduction on Christmas Eve 2024 and the grim discovery of his body near the Second Niger Bridge in February 2025 had left the seat vacant.
Returning Officers, Prof. Frank Ojiako and Prof. Ibiam Ekpe, who oversaw the Senate and Assembly elections respectively, commended both candidates and voters for their generally peaceful conduct during the polls. Voter turnout was reported as strong in many parts of the constituencies.
However, the elections were not without incident. Tension erupted in Nnewi South when Deputy Governor Onyekachukwu Ibezim and Commissioner for Environment Felix Odumegwu were attacked by angry youths who accused them of engaging in vote-buying. The officials were reportedly held hostage for over an hour before security operatives intervened.
Governor Chukwuma Soludo condemned the attack, blaming APC governorship candidate Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu for orchestrating it. APGA’s national publicity secretary, Ejimofor Opara, echoed the claim, alleging that APC thugs targeted government officials in an attempt to disrupt the vote.
Ukachukwu’s camp rejected the allegations. His aide, Comrade Tony Uche, argued that the deputy governor and commissioner stormed Ukachukwu’s hometown in Osumenyi with a heavily armed security convoy, which provoked local youths to resist. He insisted that the APC candidate never ordered an attack, portraying the clash as a spontaneous community reaction.
Despite the controversy, INEC maintained that the outcomes reflected the will of the electorate. For APGA, the victories consolidate its dominance in Anambra politics and signal momentum ahead of the state’s governorship election later this year.
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