The All Progressives Congress (APC) has
formally petitioned INEC Chairman
Attahiru Jega seeking the cancellation of
the Nov. 16th Governorship Election in
Anambra State and the organization of a
fresh election, instead of the
Supplementary Election being planned by
the electoral body.
APC is also demanding that the Anambra
Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC),
Prof, Chukwuemeka Onukogu, be
transferred out of Anambra State and a
new REC be appointed to supervise the
fresh elections, while Prof. Onukogu ”and
members of his syndicate” who ruined
the Nov. 16th poll should immediately be
arrested and prosecuted.
”These are the ways to rebuild public
confidence in your Commission and
restore the integrity of the electoral
process,” the party wrote in the petition,
dated Nov. 18th and jointly signed by its
Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi
Akande and Interim National Secretary,
Alhaji Tijjani Tumsah.
It urged INEC to discontinue all
arrangements for the conduct of the
Supplementary Election, and demanded
that no candidate in the Nov. 16th poll
should be returned as the winner pending
the conduct of fresh election.
”Our demand is predicated on the serious
irregularities and non-compliance with
the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 as
amended which characterized the conduct
of the said election. To proceed with the
election as proposed by your Commission
will amount to a gruesome assault on the
right of the people of Anambra State to
elect a Governor of their choice and a
legitimizing of a grave travesty of the
electoral process as witnessed during the
November 16, 2013 Governorship
Election,” APC said.
File: From left: Chief Bisi Akande, Senator
Annie Okonkwo, Imo State Governor,
Rochas Okorocha, and former Anambra
State Governor, Senator Chris Ngige,
during the endorsement of Chris Ngige as
APC governorship candidate for Anambra
State governorship election.
Expatiating on the reasons for its call for
cancellation, the party said the Voters’
Register used for the election was tainted
with vice, to such an extent that many
voters, especially in Senator Ngige’s
stronghold, were disenfranchised, while
the register was padded with minors and
multiple registrants in the LGAs
controlled by APGA; And that APC field
agents had catalogued about 1,380 polling
units of about 600, 000 voters with one
form of irregularity or the other.
It also noted that the monitors/observers
accredited by INEC have roundly criticized
the election as ”gravely flawed” and
“leaves a lot to be desired and reflected
the lack of competence on the part of
INEC in the conduct of elections”; That
results were brought in without being
publicly announced by the LGA Collation
Officers; That election materials were not
distributed in a timely manner in many
polling units, thus affecting the timely
commencement of accreditation and
voting; That the Commission failed to
deploy election officials in sufficient
numbers to several polling units; And that
election officials were recruited at the
election venue and deployed without any
form of training.
Other reasons cited by the APC for
demanding the cancellation of the poll are
that students were recruited as Presiding
Officers and Polling Assistants, further
compromising the electoral process; That
aside from students, the staff of Nnamdi
Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka were
recruited as Supervisory Presiding Officers
(SPOs) by Prof. Onukaogu, contrary to
INEC’s directive that staff of UNIZIK
would not be used in the election since
the APGA Deputy Governorship
Candidate, Dr. Nkem Okeke, was a Senior
Lecturer with the university prior to his
candidacy.
APC also used the petition to debunk
claims by INEC that only the courts have
the power to cancel the election, saying
”A correct reading of the Electoral Act
2010 as amended is to the effect that
your Commission cannot reverse itself
where a candidate in the election has
been returned as a winner. This has not
been done. Indeed, your Commission had
on Monday, 18th November, 2013
declared the election as ’inconclusive’.”
The party explained that in an electoral
process, a Ward or Local Government
Collation Officer who stands in the same
position as State Collation/Returning
Officer can cancel or reject results
submitted to him at ward or local
government level where the result is
tainted with vice or irregularities.
”The Commission is therefore duly
empowered to reject the purported
results as announced. It is instructive that
it is the prior cancellations of results by
the Commission that has led to the
affected areas being included in the areas
for which the ‘Supplementary Election’ is
to be held,” it said.
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