Anambra poll: Opposition condemns community donations to Soludo’s campaign

Anambra map

Opposition parties in Anambra State have faulted the community-based donations being made to the re-election campaign of the state governor and candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, describing the gesture as a violation of the Electoral Act 2022.

The All Progressives Congress, the Labour Party and the African Action Congress accused the ruling party of promoting what they called “a culture of coercive and anonymous giving” under the guise of communal support for Soludo’s re-election bid.

Over the past few weeks, Soludo has received donations from several communities across the state ahead of the November 8, 2025 governorship election.

At a campaign rally in Onitsha South Local Government Area on Tuesday, the governor’s campaign team received a cheque of N20m from community leaders described as “a token of appreciation” for his development strides.

“If anyone believes these are genuine donations from poor rural communities, they are missing the point,” Madukaife said.

“These are state funds being laundered in broad daylight through political loyalists. Local government allocations that should be used for basic development are being funnelled into the governor’s re-election project.

“You can’t tell us that communities that can’t even fix their boreholes or schools are suddenly donating N20m to a campaign. It insults the intelligence of ndi Anambra.”

Madukaife urged the Independent National Electoral Commission and anti-graft agencies to scrutinise the sources of the donations.

“The Electoral Act is clear that campaign donations must be transparent, traceable, and within legal limits. Anything outside that is criminal,” he said.

The Labour Party’s spokesperson, Johnson Okoye, similarly described the donations as a form of disguised vote-buying.