Tension and anxiety, yesterday, gripped voters, party faithful and residents of Nasarawa, Kaduna, Enugu, Abia, Kano, Taraba and Adamawa states following protests that trailed alleged manipulation, delays in results’ announcement and suspension of collation.
In Lafia, Nasarawa State capital, two persons were feared killed with several others injured as protesters took to the street to express displeasure following the announcement of Governor Abdullahi Sule as winner.
The protesters blocked major roads and caused gridlock, attacked and vandalised public and private property amid attempts by security agencies to quell the riots.
All through the day, the atmosphere remained tensed in the state capital with residents expressing concerns about possible escalation of violence to other parts of the state.
“We’re not satisfied; these election was rigged, he’s (Sule) not the person we voted for. The people are so angry, the outcome is not transparent,” a protester who gave his name as Ahmad said.
Sule defeated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, David Umbugadu, by a margin of 62,000 votes.
It was learnt that the protesters felt the PDP candidate was shortchanged.
The state police command was yet to issue a statement on the protest as at the time of filing this report.
In Abia and Enugu states, tension was also heightened following INEC’s suspension of collation of results due to discrepancies in the results from some local government areas. In the two states, there have been no love lost between supporters of candidates of Labour Party and PDP following allegations of manipulation.
In Abia State, prior to the suspension, results from 16 out of the 17 local government areas had been announced, with Dr. Alex Otti of Labour Party (LP) winning PDP’s candidate, Okey Ahiwe with over 93,000 margin of votes. The suspension was triggered by the contentious Obingwa LGA votes that was said to be over 80,000. It was alleged that thugs invaded and attacked INEC office during the collation of results.
INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said reports, particularly from Enugu State, called for a review of the results from Nsukka and Nkanu East LGAs.
“The commission met today Monday) and reviewed the conduct of the governorship and State Assembly elections held nationwide on Saturday, March 18, 2023. Arising from the meeting, the commission took the decision to suspend forthwith further collation of the governorship election results in some parts of Abia and Enugu states. It will be recalled that our office in Obingwa LGA was invaded by thugs on Sunday and our officials held hostage in relation to the collation of results from the Local Government Area. Similarly, reports from Enugu State call for a review of the results for the governorship election from the two outstanding LGAs of Nsukka and Nkanu East.
“Consequently, the commission hereby suspends the collation of results in Obingwa LGA of Abia State and the two outstanding LGAs of Enugu State which are yet to be collated. A review will be undertaken immediately before the process is concluded. We appeal for the understanding and patience of voters, parties and candidates in the affected states,” INEC appealed in the statement.
•Abia PDP faults INEC
However, PDP faulted the decision of INEC to review collation of results of the Obingwa LGA.
In a statement by its state chairman, Asiforo Okere, PDP said the electoral umpire should announce results of Obingwa LGA that had already passed through unit, ward and local government collation processes.
He distanced the party from the alleged attack on the commission’s office in Obingwa LGA. He said: “There were also reports of INEC officials allegedly being held hostage in Ohafia LGA, Umuahia South and Umuahia North. Yet, INEC accepted results from those LGAs. It is on record that Obingwa is the only LGA where polling agents insisted on full compliance with the INEC’s stated guideline of announcement of results at the unit, and collation at wards, so that polling agents can have copies prior to submission to state collation office.
“We are not aware of any report by security agencies in the state, including the Nigerian Police Force or the Department of State Services (DSS), indicating violence in Obingwa LGA before, during and after the election of March 18th, 2023.
“Our party and indeed others, have seriously complained about results that were changed at INEC office Umuahia, contrary to INEC procedures, with particular reference to Unuahia North, Umuahia South, Osisioma, Aba North, Aba South and Arochukwu without any action taken by INEC.”
•Uneasy calm in Kaduna
In Kaduna State, youths carrying placards had wanted to storm the INEC headquarters to protest what they described as attempt to undermine the will of the people in favour of a particular party, alleging alterations of original election results.
Armed security personnel were drafted to take over various streets leading to the state headquarters of the Commission in ahead of the collation of final result of the governorship election in the state.
Meanwhile, PDP has asked INEC to declare its candidate, Mohammed Isah Ashiru as the winner.
Addressing a press conference yesterday, the state Chairman of PDP, Felix Hassan Hyat noted that delay to declare the candidate of PDP was a ploy to deny the people who should govern them.
INEC resumed results collation since Sunday and was still collating as at the time of this report, having announced results from 22 out of the 23 LGAs.
•Adamawa inconclusive
In Adamawa State, it was also a tensed moment as INEC declared the governorship election inconclusive.
The race is between Ahmadu Fintiri of the PDP and Mrs Aisha Binani of the APC.
Fintiri was leading Binani, after the results of 20 local governments had been announced. But the APC candidate was hopeful of securing victory in the remaining local government, Fufore.
Prof. Mohammed Mele, the state INEC returning officer said the election was cancelled in 47 registration areas, 69 polling Units with the total number of 41,796 registered voters.
“The number of Permanent Voter Cards (VCs) from the affected polling units in the different LGAs affected is 37,016.
“After the collation we calculated the total number of votes with the two leading candidates with the highest votes, APC with 390,275 and PDP with 421, 524 votes. So this gives us the margin of 31,249 and the total number of PVCs collected in the places amounts to 37,916,” he said.
•Suspension averted violent clash –PDP
Suspension of further collation of governorship election results in Enugu State brought back sanity to the Coal City and averted what would have been a violent clash between the supporters of the PDP and LP.
Before suspension of the exercise was announced, tension had built up everywhere as agitated members of both parties and supporters of their governorship candidates, Peter Mbah and Chijioke Edeoga had taken over major roads leading to INEC State headquarters and collation centre.
While the LP members and supporters who were first to storm the area took over the Cathedral Church of Good Shepherd axis, protesting the alleged non-use of BVAS and over-voting at Nkanu East Local Government, the PDP and its supporters who came some 30 minutes later, barricaded the Okpara Square axis, insisting that Mbah had won and must be declared without further delay.
Both sides had their numbers increased with time to the extent they all staged DJs who blastered music from loudspeakers.
At the time the suspension statement came, it was obvious that the two rival party members would have clashed had the result been declared without addressing the issues of Nkanu East and Nsukka.
In his petition that led to the suspension, the LP candidate, Edeoga had said among other things that, “the unexplained discrepancies are as a result of non-usage of BVAS as mandatorily required by the Electoral Act and the guidelines of the electoral body, which led to the fraudulent allocation of votes to PDP by the officials appointed by INEC to conduct the election.
“No wonder the discrepancies between the votes they hurriedly uploaded to the IREV and the votes they presented for collation.”
•INEC lacks powers to suspend collated Enugu results –PDP
The Campaign Council of the Enugu State chapter of PDP has disagreed with INEC on its decision to suspend the announcement of the final results and declaration of Mbah, stressing that the election management body was overreaching itself, as it could not, by law suspend the declaration of an already collated result.
The PDP equally also said INEC was wrong to present the Abia and Enugu cases as the same.
The party stated these at a press conference addressed by spokesperson of the Enugu State PDP Campaign Council in Enugu yesterday.
The PDP said: “Putting the Abia and Enugu situations in one basket clearly shows that the national headquarters of INEC is mixing things up or has not been properly briefed. There is absolutely nothing like outstanding local governments as far as the collation process in Enugu State is concerned.
“Unlike the situation in Abia State, the results of the entire 17 LGAs of Enugu State, including those of Nkanu East and Nsukka LGAs, have been fully collated by the Returning Officer, Prof Maduebibisi Ofo Iwe, on Sunday the 19th of March. What remains for the INEC is to sum up the returns by the Local Government Returning Officers and declare our candidate, Dr. Mbah the governor-elect. That is why we are saying that INEC is overreaching itself; they have no powers at this stage to suspend the pronouncement or declaration of the winner of the election, which is our candidate.
“Section 64(8) of the Electoral Act 2022 provides that where collation has been completed as in the present case of Enugu State, the duty of the collation officer, who collated the result is to announce the result and make a declaration. Therefore, having collated the results from Nsukka LGA and Nkanu East LGA, the statutory duty and legal responsibility of the State Returning Officer is simply to announce and declare the results, as INEC cannot, by law, suspend the declaration of result already collated.”
(Daily Sun)
