From Okay Sampson, umuahia
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and Chinedu Onyeizu, candidate of the Labor Party in the National Assembly elections last Saturday, have rejected the result of the senatorial area of Abia South announced by the National Electoral Commission Independent (INEC) and called for its annulment.
of the result of last Saturday’s elections in the Southern District of Abia in which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe the winner.
In the result published by the Election Teller, Professor Georgina Ugwuanyi, INEC, Abaribe got 49,693 votes to win the poll, followed by LP’s Chinedu Onyeizu who got 43,903 to come in second and Governor Ikpeazu got 28,422 votes to take third place.
Speaking through his agent at the collation center in Aba, Charles Esonu, Ikpeazu noted that INEC had announced it was inconclusive after the election and wondered why the electoral referee would later declare the result when the election did not take place. out in 108 polling units in Obingwa, Aba. South and North Abia municipalities.
Ikpeazu, dismissing the statement as a farce and a blatant display of bias, expressed surprise that INEC, which had previously confirmed that the elections did not take place in 108 voting units in the council areas of Obingwa, Aba Sur and Abia Norte, was still declared the winner despite protests from party agents. .
Describing INEC’s action as irrational, partial and anti-democratic, Ikpeazu demands the urgent annulment of the declaration of a winner in an inconclusive election and the immediate rescheduling of the election in all 108 voting units.
“Nigeria’s problem has been the weakness of our national institutions as the INEC clearly demonstrated in this election. We call on the INEC to be fair and just with all political parties and their candidates, annul the declaration and reschedule the election in the 108 polling stations. This is the only way we can grow our democracy,” he said.
Ikpeazu pointed out that the 108 voting units where the elections were not held have a cumulative voting population of more than 200,000, which is more than the votes obtained by the parties.
He indicated that more than 50,000 PPD supporters were unable to cast their ballots due to the lack of provision and late arrival of electoral material at most polling stations in the constituency’s six local government areas.
Also rejecting the result, LP candidate Chinedu Onyeizu said he rejected Senator Abaribe’s declaration as the winner of the election in its entirety.
Onyeizu described as shocking how Professor Georgina Ugwuanyi, the canvassing officer who earlier declared the election inconclusive because she said around 108 units had irregularities, will then announce Abaribe as the winner without telling the world how she resolved those irregularities.
He also said that despite the irregularities that the INEC spoke of in those polling stations, the figures given to Abaribe were wrong.
Onyeizu said he was leading Abaribe with 10,000 votes before the inclusive election was declared.
“It is shocking, magical and remains an electoral mystery how the INEC reduced my score to 43,903 votes and magnified that of Abaribe, who should go behind Onyeizu to 49,693 votes.
“We are talking about more than 500,000 registered voters. They claimed that I was winning with 5000 which is not true. They miscalculated. He was in the lead with 10,000 votes.
“Let’s assume he was even leading with what they claimed, who said it can’t be turned down in those voting units considering the number of registered voters there. So, I do not accept this result because it is not a true reflection of the votes cast.”
He promised to dispute the results until the end, emphasizing that his opposition has shown that he was afraid of a replay, knowing that he would be defeated.
