THE supplementary election to conclude the voting for the next governor of Anambra State is to take place tomorrow in 210 polling units in the state.
However, ahead of the poll, the Labour Party candidate, Chief Ifeanyi Ubah yesterday joined candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Comrade Tony Nwoye and the All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Chris Ngige in ruling out participation in the exercise.
Nwoye, Uba and Ngige
Meanwhile, a potential judicial encumbrance against the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA candidate, Chief Willie Obiano was removed yesterday after his party rival, Rep. Uche Ekwunife withdrew a legal challenge on his validity as a candidate.
Mrs. Ekwunife who took second in the APGA gubernatorial primaries had taken Obiano to court challenging his validity on the basis that he registered twice during the voter’s registration exercise. Tomorrow’s supplementary election follows malpractises and logistical constraints that derailed the conduct of the election in the affected polling units.
APGA candidate, Obiano was leading at the conclusion of the voting penultimate Saturday and Sunday with 174,710 votes against the 94,956 votes garnered by PDP’s Nwoye, 92,300 scored by APC’s Ngige and 37,446 scored by Labour’s Ubah.
The controversies ahead of the polls nonetheless, the League of Anambra Professionals, LAP yesterday promised to work with whosever emerges the winner of the final election. Ekwunife in a statement yesterday said she was withdrawing the case due to pressure from family and friends and also, in the interest of the party. The statement read thus: “In deference to pressure from my family, my state Governor, friends, Colleagues, clergymen, royal fathers, well- wishers and the larger interest of our great party, the all Progressives Grand Alliance, I have instructed my lawyers to terminate forthwith, Duit Ni, GHC/ AWK/CS/ 281/2013, which we instituted at the Federal High Court, Awka.
“I also dissociate myself from all other suits in any form or colour against our party candidate, Chief Willie Obiano, by any person or persons, group or groups before now or in the future. May I use this opportunity to affirm my loyalty to our governor, the National Chairman of our great party, our candidate, Chief Willie Obiano and the APGA family.”
Affirming his withdrawal from the election, Ubah, the Labour Party candidate in a statement, yesterday, alleged that the previous exercise was mismanaged by INEC.
Supplementary election
A statement by Mr. Emmanuel Ibeleme, a member of the Ifeanyi Ubah Campaign Organisation said: “Labour Party will not take part in the supplementary election which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it would hold on Saturday, November 30, 2013. It has become absolutely necessary to issue this statement which is a final clarification on the matter.
“So, all our members, all our supporters, all our associates, all our friends, all our admirers and all our sympathisers are by this statement informed that the Labour Party (LP) does not have anything to do with the supplementary election which INEC, contrary to reasons, said it would be holding on Saturday, November 30, 2013.”
It further said, “this has been the consistent position of both the Labour Party and Dr. Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah, the governorship candidate in the mismanaged and mishandled, generally accepted flawed governorship election of Saturday, November 16, 2013. The reasons for our position have been well canvassed at all respectable fora and need not be restated here. However, this final statement is a restatement of our consistent position.”
Meanwhile the League of Anambra Professionals, LAP, has stated that it would work with whoever emerges the eventual winner of the election, even as it urged voters to turnout for the exercise. The group in a statement by its National President Mr. Willy Nzewi said, “against the backdrop of INEC’s decision to hold a supplementary election, we the League of Anambra Professionals, a non-partisan body for the development of AnambraState, want the electorate to go out and vote peacefully for the candidate of their choice in the supplementary election.
Complaints of irregularities
Though there were complaints of irregularities by some of the gubernatorial candidates and their political parties, some other political parties described the election as free and fair.
“AnambraState should never again be turned to a theatre of war. Violence is not an option. After all, the people have no other state than Anambra.’’
Meanwhile, the candidate of the Africa Democratic Congress, ADC in the governorship election, Chief Anayo Arinze, yesterday, called on his party and supporters to shun the call for the outright cancellation of the last election and participate fully at the poll. He said, “Given INEC declaration of the November 16 governorship election in the state as inconclusive, we in ADC believe that only a supplementary election will afford the disenfranchised voters another opportunity to exercise their civic responsibility.”
He declared that, “the call for outright cancellation of AnambraState governorship election is evil, mischievous and unpatriotic and should be ignored by all well meaning citizens”.
Buhari, Tinubu, Akande, other APC leaders in street march
Leaders of the All Progressives Congress APC, yesterday, stormed the streets of Abuja in protest against the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to hold supplementary governorship election in AnambraState tomorrow. The party had earlier called for the cancellation of the entire election due to what they claimed as wide-spread irregularities which allegedly characterized the exercise held penultimate Saturday.
The APC procession was led by leaders of the party, including: the National Chairman Chief Bisi Akande; former military Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari; former governor of Lagos State, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and former governor of old Abia State, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu. Other notable members of the party who participated in the protest were the Senate Minority Leader, Senator George Akume and his deputy, Senator Ahmed Sani, Senator Kabiru Gaya, former governor of Ogun State, Olusegun Osoba and the former governor of Ekiti State, Otunba Niyi Adebayo.
Armoured personnel carriers
The protest which commenced from the party’s national secretariat at Blantyre Street, Wuse 2, moved through Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent and was stopped some distance from the INEC headquarters in Maitama. Heavily armed policemen, soldiers equipped with Armoured Personnel Carriers barricaded the street leading to the headquarters to stop the procession.
After they were stopped, Akande said they led the procession to protest against INEC’s handling of recent elections in Anambra and Delta states. He said: “We are here to say no to rigging. We have come here to hand over our petition to the leadership of INEC. We demand the cancellation of the last governorship election held in AnambraState. We reject the supplementary election scheduled to hold tomorrow because of the wide-spread irregularities which took place during the first exercise held two weeks ago”. Other leaders of the party including Gen. Buhari, Tinubu and Onu spoke along the same line.”
IG charges officers to remain politically neutral
Rising from a strategic security meeting with members of the Force Management Team, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP MD Abubakar, yesterday, assured Nigerians of the readiness of the Force to ensure adequate provision of security in and around Anambra State in tomorrow’s supplementary election in some parts of the State
Speaking after a strategic security meeting with members of the Force management team in Abuja, he promised citizens of the state that earlier security arrangements for the November 16 guber election were still in place, noting that the Force will continue to maintain its optimal presence in the State until the successful conclusion of the election.
The IG called on personnel of the Force and other security agencies to rededicate themselves and be truly committed towards ensuring a seamless and hitch free conduct of the supplementary election.
A statement signed by Force Public Relations officer, CSP Frank Mba, said the “IG charged the officers and men to remain steadfast, focused and neutral and exhibit the highest level of professionalism in the course of discharging their duties both during and after the period of the elections in the state”.
The IG also sued for peace among the people of AnambraState urging them to cooperate with the Police and other relevant security agencies in ensuring an atmosphere of peace and order throughout the remaining phase of the election. He enjoined the politicians, traditional rulers, and opinion leaders in the state to play by the rules and also help in educating their followers on the need to allow INEC and other Government agencies to see the process of the election through.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/11/anambra-guber-supplementary-poll-cant-part-ubah/#sthash.L89mqtbo.160KPOHn.dpuf
No comments:
Post a Comment