By Karen James
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Sunday, declared Chief Emmanuel Nwachukwu of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) winner of the Saturday, August 16, 2025, bye-election for the Anambra South Senatorial District.
Nwachukwu, a former President General of Ukpor, secured a landslide victory with 90,408 votes, defeating Chief Azuka Okwuosa of the All Progressive Congress (APC), who scored 19,812 votes, and Donald Amamgbo of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), who garnered 2,889 votes.
The election, which saw the participation of about 16 political parties, was conducted to fill the vacant seat left by the late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah. Ubah, who originally won re-election in 2023 on the platform of the Young Progressive Party (YPP) before defecting to the APC, passed away in 2024.
Chief Nwachukwu’s triumph marks a historic breakthrough for APGA, making him the first candidate from the party to win a senatorial election in Anambra South and only the second APGA senator in the state’s political history. He will also become the first person from Nnewi South Local Government Area to represent the district at the National Assembly.
The first APGA senator in Anambra was Victor Umeh, who won the Anambra Central rerun election on January 13, 2018. Umeh replaced Senator Uche Ekwunife of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), after the court annulled her 2015 victory and barred her party from re-contesting.
Historically, senatorial elections in Anambra have largely been dominated by the PDP, except in 2011 when former governor Chris Nwabueze Ngige of the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) clinched the Anambra Central seat.
Nwachukwu’s victory is therefore seen as both a political upset and a new chapter for APGA, positioning the party as a stronger force in Anambra’s senatorial politics.
