Labour Party, PDP Blows Hot Over Outcome of Kogi and Imo Governorship Elections

• …Bayelsa result delayed

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party have blown hot over outcome of the election as the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), were declared the winner of Saturday’s governorship poll in Imo and Kogi states

The Independent National Electoral Commission on Sunday affirmed the re-election of Governor Hope Uzodinma of APC in Imo state having won in all the 27 local government areas of the state.

The governor clinched a second term in office after scoring a total of 540,008 votes, the commission stated.

Announcing Uzodimma’s victory, the Imo State Returning Officer for the election, Prof Abayomi Fasina, who is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oye, Ekiti State, disclosed that Samuel Anyanwu of the PDP got 71, 503 votes while the Labour Party candidate, Athan Aconu, garnered 64, 081 votes.

In Kogi, the candidate of the APC, Usman Ododo, was declared the winner of the election with 446,237 votes.

Announcing the result late Sunday night, the state Returning Officer, Prof Johnson Urama, said Ododo was closely followed by the Social Democratic Party candidate, Muri Ajaka, who scored 259,052 votes.

Dino Melaye of the PDP garnered 46,362 votes; Leke Bejide of the African Democratic Party, 21,891; and Adejo Okeme of the LP 567.

The total number of registered voters was 1,932,474, and accredited voters numbered 794,500.

The commission said 9,601 votes were rejected out of the 791,890 total votes cast.

In Bayelsa State, the INEC said the results from Brass and Southern Ijaw local government Areas of Bayelsa would be announced on Monday (today).

The Head of Department, Voter Education and Publicity INEC office, Yenagoa, Mr Wilfred Ifogah, announced to state party agents, election observers and journalists on Sunday that the collation of results would continue today.

Meanwhile, the PDP and LP called for a total poll cancellation after the declaration.

They alleged that the security agents connived with INEC staff to allow members of the APC to rig the election.

Addressing journalists at a press conference, Anyanwu, while demanding the nullification of the election, said INEC and the security agents failed in their constitutional responsibility to deliver a credible election to the people of the state.

Instead, he alleged that the security agents protected INEC staff “as the APC members rewrote results.’’

Anyanwu said he and his party, the PDP, would not accept anything other than total cancellation of the poll.

The LP candidate, Achonu, vowed to seek redress at the election tribunal.

Addressing journalists at his Umulomo country home in Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of the state on Sunday, he alleged that the election was “marred by irregularities, including vote-buying and physical assaults of LP agents, and thus deserving of outright cancellation.”

He further alleged that voting in many locations was done without the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System accreditation, contrary to the assurances by INEC before the election.

Achonu also alleged compromise on the part of the security personnel, adding that “recorded evidence abound such as that of a police officer who voters beat for attempting to snatch a ballot box.”

He commended the LP supporters for their steadfastness in the face of provocation and assured them that they would get justice at the courts.

Similarly, Kogi State chapter of the SDP called for the cancellation of the results in Okene, Okehi, Ogori Magongo, Adavi, and Ajaokuta LGs, as well as in some parts of Lokoja alleging corrupt practices, vote-buying and over-voting.

The party’s collation agent, David Edibu, submitted a petition to the State Returning Officer, Prof. Johnson Urame, who assured him the petition would be reviewed.

Corroborating Edibu, the PDP agent at the collation centre, Abubakar Mahmood, submitted that the incidences of malpractices in the said LGA were alarming.

In the same vein, the PDP standard bearer in Kogi State, Dino Melaye, has called on the electoral commission to cancel the off-cycle election in the state.

Melaye, who spoke at a press conference on Sunday in Lokoja, the state capital, alleged that result sheets were manipulated before the commencement of the accreditation of voters on Saturday.

“Yesterday, there was no election in the five local governments of the central senatorial district in Kogi state. In the end, surprisingly, accreditation was done manually, the BVAS was not used,” Melaye said.

However, the APC has called on INEC to disregard calls for the cancellation of the election and should instead protect the integrity of the votes in the state.

The APC Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said the party’s candidate, Ododo, was already “coasting to a spectacular victory.”

In a statement on Sunday, Morka said the announced and uploaded results so far showed Ododo “maintaining a landslide lead in Kogi West and Central, with a competitive showing in Kogi East.”