The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has declared the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Willie Obiano, 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. ”
The result showed APGA polled 180,178 votes, PDP polled 97,700 votes; APC got 95,963 votes,
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.
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, 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.
Despite the low turn out, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Rivers, 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.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.
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.”