Anambra Governorship Election: Obiano declared winner

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ADHOC STAFF WAITING FOR VOTERS DURING ANAMBRA GOVERNORSHIP SUPPLEMENTARY ELECTION AT CHUKWURA PRIMARY SCHOOL II, ABATETE IN IDEMILI NORTH LOCAL COUNCIL AREA OF THE STATE ON SATURDAY

 

By Vincent Ujumadu, Tony Edike and Enyim Enyim
The All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Chief Willie Obiano, has been declared winner of the governorship election in Anambra State. The returning officer,  Prof James Epoke said Obiano satisfied all the requirements of the law “and is hereby declared winner. ”

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Before yesterday’s supplementary election conducted in 210 polling units in 16 local councils across the state where the exercise was cancelled during the November 16 exercise, Obiano was already coasting home to victory, having scored the highest number of votes and securing 25 per cent in 18 of the 21 local government areas of the state.
The 16 local government areas where INEC conducted the supplementary election are Aguata, Awka North, Awka South, Anambra East, Anambra West, Ayamelum, Anaocha, Ekwusigo, Idemili North and Idemili South. Others are Ihiala, Nnewi South, Onitsha North, Onitsha South, Orumba North and Oyi.
Residents flout restriction order


ADHOC Staff wait for voters during the Governorship supplimentary election at Chukwura Primary School II, Abatete in Idemili North LCA. Though there was restriction of movement in the affected areas, some people were still doing their normal businesses and traffic was light on the roads in all the areas.
Soldiers were stationed along all the roads leading to Idemili North local government area and Onitsha South local government area, which had the highest number of polling units of 160 and 17 respectively where the supplementary election took place.

APC, LP agents take part

Though the All Progressive Congress, APC, the Labour Party, LP, and the campaign organization of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate, Comrade Tony Nwoye, said they would not participate in the exercise, their agents were seen in many polling units. However, while APGA and PDP agents wore tags, those who claimed to be APC agents did not wear their tags. At Abatete in Idemili north, agents of the PDP and LP were at the polling units.
Voters’ apathy

In all the polling units where the supplementary polls took place yesterday, there was very low turnout of voters and heavy presence of security operatives.
In most polling units visited by Sunday Vanguard, electoral officials and sensitive electoral materials arrived early. But, despite the early arrival of these materials, the number of eligible voters, who came out for the accreditation exercise, was very low compared to the turn-out during the November 16 and 17 elections.
Early results

At Zik Avenue, Onitsha polling units 8, 9 and 10, APGA scored 18 votes, APC – 8, while PDP polled 6. At polling unit 006, APC scored 9, APGA got 26, while PDP scored 2. REC commends Anambra voters, says there’s no boycott Despite the low turn out, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Rivers, Mr. Aniedi Ikoiwak, who supervised the election in Onitsha South and Onitsha North council areas, commended the people of Anambra for coming out to vote yesterday’s supplementary governorship election.
Ikoiwak spoke at Okija Hall where voting took place in four polling units.

APC out to cause mischief – PDP chairman
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Anambra State, Prince Ken Emeakayi, has accused the APC of causing mischief and deceiving Nigerians.
Emeakayi spoke with journalists at Akpkogwe polling booth Ogidi ward 1 where he had gone to observe the supplementary election. He said that despite APC’s call on voters to boycott the election, the party has agents in all the polling units.

INEC ignores Ubah’s case

Meanwhile, the supplementary poll held, yesterday, in apparent disregard of a case by the LP candidate in the November 16 election, Dr Ifeanyi Ubah, seeking to stop it. A letter by Ubah’s lawyers, Olagoke Fakunle, SAN, and Co, to INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, dated  November 29, 2013, notified  INEC about the case.

“You would have noticed that amongst the processes is a Motion on Notice for interlocutory in juntion restraining you from conducting any further election in Anambra State, with regard to the office of the Governor of the State, until the court has had an opportunity to review the legality of your pre-election processes towards that election”, the letter said.

“It was for the reason of the urgency and importance of  this action that the Federal High Court, on 28th November 2013, made an order to abridge the time within which you and other Defendants may file your responses to both the application for injunction and the originating summons. The court also granted accelerated hearing of the matter by adjourning the hearing to 9th December, 2013.

“We therefore hereby demand that you postpone the proposed supplementary election for the Governor of Anambra state to avoid a situation whereby you would have foisted a fait accompli on the court and the court in response will therefore be constrained to void everything you have done including the outcome of the proposed supplementary election, with attendant waste of national resources.

“The appropriate thing for you to do at this stage, therefore, is to enter appearance and file your responses to the processes you have been served with and await the court’s determination of the illegality or otherwise of the pre-election process leading to your decision to hold a supplementary election for the Governor of Anambra State, before you continue with any further plans for the conduct of any election of the Governor of Anambra State.”