Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate, George Moghalu, has expressed deep concern over what he described as the widespread monetisation of Saturday’s governorship election in Anambra State.
Speaking with journalists at his residence in Nnewi North LGA, Moghalu said he had received repeated reports of vote-buying across several polling areas, despite the heavy security presence deployed for the exercise.
He lamented that the practice, which had become evident in previous elections, had resurfaced even more aggressively.
Moghalu said, “The situation is scandalous and very embarrassing. The issue of vote-buying is no more a speculation. It happened very aggressively in the last by-election. This time around, I’ve been receiving reports of the same thing happening.”
The LP candidate expressed disappointment that security agencies had not apprehended offenders despite their large deployment to the state.
He said, “With the quantity of security personnel that has been brought into Anambra State for the purposes of this election, I expect that vote-buyers by now should have been caught and stopped.”
He described the trend as “most unfortunate”, noting that it poses serious danger to democratic credibility.
Moghalu warned that vote buying produces unqualified leaders and ultimately harms the electorate.
According to him, “The worst form of corruption is electoral corruption. Because by electoral corruption, you put in office people who are not credible, people who are not qualified, people who should not hold responsible offices. At the end of the day, it is the people that suffer.”
Despite the reported irregularities, Moghalu said he remained hopeful of victory, insisting he had run a credible campaign and presented a clear manifesto to the people.
He said, “I’m very optimistic. I’ve done everything I should do according to the rules. I sleep peacefully. I watch everything play out.”
Highlighting his experience, he added, “One of the things I present to the people is my experience, both in the public and private sectors. And I always ask people to verify who I am.”
Moghalu added by affirming that the final outcome rests in divine hands. He said, “Power belongs to God and He gives to whom He pleases. What we are doing is making ourselves available for the will of God to prevail.”
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