ANAMBRA GOVERNORSHIP DECLARED INCONCLUSIVE...

 

The Chief Returning Officer for the Anambra State Governorship Election, Prof. James Epoke, has declared  the election has inconclusive after initially declaring Chief Willie Obiano of the All Progressives Grand Alliance the winner of the election conducted on Saturday 16 and 17 November 2013. The candidates of three frontline political parties in the last Saturday Anambra State gubernatorial election, Dr. Chris Ngige, Tony Nwoye, and Dr. Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah, of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), and Labour Party (LP) respectively, last night called for the cancellation of the polls, alleging gross irregularities in the conduct of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). In a joint press conference in Awka, the Anambra State capital, the three candidates accused the INEC, security agencies of conspiring with the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to rig the election in favour of the latter’s candidate, Chief Willie Obiano. The spokesman of the aggrieved contestants Senator Ngige, alleged that in addition to late distribution of electoral materials to areas known to be their strongholds, result sheets were found missing, while those supplied in some polling units, were found to be result sheets meant for other polling units, thereby making them invalid for the election in those areas. They further alleged that the APGA government in the State provided huge sums of money to State commissioners, party chieftains, and contractors, as well as president generals of town unions to buy the conscience of the electorate. They alleged that each voter was given the sum of N10,000 to vote for the APGA candidate, Chief Willie Obiano. They warned that for peace to reign in the State, INEC should cancel the entire election, and fix a date for a fresh conduct of the polls. Cheif James Epoke has said some results in some areas have been nullified and a rerun would be held in those areas.