Anambra Governorship Election: Obiano declared winner

Anambra Governorship Election: Obiano
declared winner
on december 01, 2013 at 12:55 am in anambra
elections , news
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. ”
The result showed APGA polled 180,178 votes, PDP
polled 97,700 votes; APC got 95,963 votes,
Obiano
while LP had 37495 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.
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 S