Chidoka: I lost to superior financial power
The candidate of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Mr Osita Chidoka, has conceded defeat in Saturday’s Anambra State governorship election.
In a statement, Chidoka said he accepted the results but hoped the people had not mortgaged the future of the state by selling their votes to the highest bidder.
He said : “On September 30, we officially kick-started our campaigns for the election. That event at Uli, the remarkable site of the historic Biafra Airport, remains significant to our people in our collective search for a new beginning.
“Our campaign attracted the finest and brightest of Anambra. The bold and the courageous were with us as we exerted our best in running the most robust issue-based and technology-driven campaign in the history of our dear state.
“We attempted to change the course of events and chart a new beginning for our state. We believed and we dared; we engaged with all patriotic vigour as we held strongly that the long-awaited time for our people to experience a new opportunity had come and we laboured for it.
“In all, our focus was the people: the forgotten, the poor and the disadvantaged. They were the prime impetus for our involvement. We beheld their agony and we strived to redirect and vent that energy through a genuine political process. We heard the complaints of our people and we worked to redirect them from the streets to the ballot box.
“Upon that pedestal, we rejected ‘godfatherism’ and money politics. Instead, we made personal sacrifices and worked with small donations and goodwill of a few good men and women. Our campaign started and remained issues-based. We attacked no persons; we looked up in faith because we believed.
“But from the ballots, we heard the voice of our people. We heard it loud and clear. On November 18 our people announced strongly their rejection of politicians. They traded their votes because they doubted we would truly represent their interest. While our message resonated with the people they doubted that the political class cared about them. They voted for the highest bidder.”
