Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State on Saturday
secured the mandate of his people to govern them for
another four years as he won the governorship rerun
election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.
Okorocha beat Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha of the
Peoples Democratic Party by polling 416,996 votes while
Ihedioha 320,705.
The Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in
Abia, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, however, won by beating Dr. Alex
Otti of the All Progressive Grand Alliance with 248,459 votes
to 165,406.
The PDP’s Darius Ishaku of Taraba State was also coasting
ahead of Sen. Aisha Alhassan of the APC going by the
results that came in as at press time. For instance, in Kofar
Sarki in Takum Local Government polling unit, the PDP had
588 votes against the APC’s 7.
At Suntai Daaji in Donga Local Government Area, the PDP
got 1,139 against APC’s 74.
At Asibiti ward in Donga Local Government Area PDP
scored 4,412 while APC had 604.
The election which took place in no fewer than seven states
only had governorship seats contested in the above named
three states while other states like Kogi, Ekiti, Delta, Akwa
Ibom, Cross River, Ebonyi, Gombe and Niger held elections
for inconclusive seats in the state Houses of Assembly and
the National Assembly.
But the elections on Saturday were marred by voter apathy
as most of the polling units in the affected states recorded
low turnout of voters.
In Imo State, it was observed that voters at most of the
areas designated for the election were scanty, as residents
shunned the restriction of movement order by the Police.
There were vehicular movements, while some shops
opened for business.
It was a similar situation in Irete and Orogwe Wards, where
youths were engaged in sporting activities.
Low turnout of voters was also recorded during the
supplementary election in Ilejemeje Constituency in
Ilejemeje Local Government Area of Ekiti State.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had
declared the election in the LGA inconclusive on April 11
after the cancellation of results from 22 units due to
violence.
Mrs. Cecelia Dada of the Peoples Democratic Party and the
incumbent, Segun Erinle, of All Progressives Congress were
the front runners in the election.
The state Police Commissioner, Mr. Joshua Ibine, had
deployed large contingent of policemen to the 22 units in
Eda Oniyo, Iludun and Iye Ekiti, where the election took
place.
There was also deployment of soldiers and officers of the
Department of State Service in the LGA.
It was a similar situation in Abia State where low voter turn-
out was witnessed during the supplementary election.
The rerun was held in 299 polling units scattered across
nine LGAs in the state, with a total of 175,537 voting
population.
In the election earlier held on April 11, the candidate of the
ruling PDP, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, had polled 248, 459 votes,
ahead of his All Progressives Grand Alliance counterpart,
Dr. Alex Otti, who scored 165,406 votes out of the 439,454
total vote cast.
INEC’s Returning Officer, Professor Benjamin Ozumba, had
declared the election inconclusive on the grounds that the
83,053 margin of lead was lower than the 175,532 total
numbers of registered voters in the polling units where
election did not hold or which results were cancelled.
In some of the polling units monitored by our
correspondent, accreditation of voters began as early as
8am without hitches as card readers functioned better than
it was the case in the previous elections.
However, at Umuobutu/Saint Silas Primary School, Old
Umuahia, only 650 voters out of the 1265 registered voters
in the centre were accredited.
Similarly, at Umuezeala in Umuahia-South, only 152 out of
the 650 registered voters at the polling unit were accredited.
Voter turnout at the polling units was not impressive as of
the time our correspondent visited.
Reports from Ohafia and Umuahia-North LGAs, as well as
other parts of the state, also indicated voter apathy.
At Oloko Ward 1 in Ikwuano, the Minister of State for
Defence, Col. Austin Akobundu (retd.), commended INEC
for the improvement recorded but stressed the need for a
permanent solution to rampant cases of card reader failure
in subsequent elections.
Meanwhile, there was an unconfirmed report that some yet-
to-be-identified thugs allegedly chased away voters at
Mbom in Umuahia-North LGA.
The state Commissioner of Police, Joshak Habila, did not
pick calls made to him for confirmation.
Reports also said the poll did not hold in Umunneochi LGA.
An INEC source said its inclusion among LGAs for the rerun
exercise was done in error.
When contacted, the state REC, Professor Selina Oko, said,
“There was no Form EC 40 G for the LGA which would
show proof of the areas where election did not hold or was
inconclusive to cause a rerun today.”
Oko also said reports of ballot box snatching later proved to
be false after investigations by the Police.
In Abia State, the supplementary elections witnessed an
appreciable turnout of voters.
The card readers deployed for accreditation of voters were
reportedly functional, taking an average of two to three
minutes to accredit a voter.
Some of the voters expressed satisfaction with the process
of accreditation, describing it as faster compared with the
previous elections.
Meanwhile, there were reports of violence in Mbom in
Umuahia-North Local Government Area, where thugs
allegedly attacked eligible voters.
An agent of APGA, Mr. Obinna Abariukwu, told the News
Agency of Nigeria that thugs invaded Isieke Ward.
He said an unidentified voter, who was wounded by the
thugs, had been taken to a hospital with the intervention of
the security agents at the centre.
The Police could not be reached for confirmation, as the
Abia State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Joshak Habila, and
the command’s spokesman, Mr. Ezekiel Onyeke, did not
pick calls made to them.
The rerun elections for Delta-Central Senatorial District,
Delta State, also witnessed low turnout of voters in many of
the polling units.
Some electoral officers, who spoke to journalists, decried
the low level of participation by the electorate, in spite of the
arrival of both personnel and materials as early as 8am.
They, however, commended those who turned out for the
exercise for conducting themselves in orderly manner.
In an interview with journalists in Jesse, Ethiope-West Local
Government Area, the APC candidate, Halims Agoda, said
he had hope of victory in the election.
He, however, expressed concern over alleged inducement of
voters.
Agoda called for additional research on use of the card
reader, which he said was “not perfectly in order.”
The candidate of the PDP, Ighoyota Amori, described the
election as “peaceful and favourable” to his party.
Amori also attributed the poor turnout to cancellations
recorded during the previous exercise on March 28.
He said, “We don’t blame the electorate because they have
gone through two to three elections and are tired of coming
out. The enthusiasm cannot be the same.
“All the same, the PDP faithful came out and we are very
hopeful. We are waiting to see the units that we will lose in
this re-run. If big figures emerge, the INEC will be blamed.” CLICK HERE TO READ FULL AND TOUCHING NIGERIAN CELEBRITIES BIOGRAPHY AND SCANDALS
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