Anambra: Group, Rep urge Jonathan, others to intervene

The International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law has urged the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, to personally investigate the controversy around the senatorial election in Anambra Central. In a statement issued in Onitsha on Wednesday and signed by the Chairman of its Board of Trustees and Head of Information Desk, Mr. Emeka Umeagbalasi and Mr. Justus Ijeoma respectively, Intersociety said Jega’s intervention was necessary to preserve the integrity of the election. There have been conflicting declarations by officials of INEC on the election, which took place last Saturday. While the original Returning Officer, Mr. Alex Anene, declared that the candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Dr. Chris Ngige, won the election, another RO, Prof. Charles Esimone, declared that the poll was inconclusive. That was after Anene had alleged that an interested group had offered him N10m, a house, car and scholarship for his children to declare the result in favour of the All Progressives Grand Alliance candidate, Prof. Dora Akunyili. Intersociety said, “We write to request, humbly, for the immediate takeover and investigation of the said dispute. As you may know, Sir, controversy has surrounded the outcome of the peaceful election into the Anambra Central Senatorial District, in which Dr. Chris Ngige of the Action Congress of Nigeria and Prof. Dora Akunyili of the APGA are leading candidates. “Consequently, we have resolved to demand the following from your good offices; that your commission should take over and credibly investigate the entire collated results from all the polling centres involving the said senatorial race; “That your commission should summon the trio of REC (Prof. Onukaogu), Esimone and Anene, as well as the collation officer for the district, alongside all relevant electoral materials in their possessions, including used and unused Form EC8As and other sensitive electoral materials used and unused; “That to be thoroughly investigated are the validity or otherwise of the two pronouncements by the duo of Esimone and Anene over the purported declaration of Ngige as the winner of the poll and the inconclusiveness of same; “That your commission should also investigate whether Anene actually resigned or abdicated his statutory duties by reportedly ceasing all forms of communications with his REC while in the purported hiding; “That your commission should investigate the weighty allegations of bribery and inducements levelled against some persons by Mr. Anene as well as whether his role in the entire saga was in line with the terms of his employment or contract with your commission; “That the roles played by the REC, including an accusation levelled against him by Mr. Anene to the effect that he compromised his official duties, should be credibly investigated by your commission.” Meanwhile, a former chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Works, Chief Chuma Nzeribe, has protested the declaration of Dr. Andy Uba of the Peoples Democratic Party as the winner of the Anambra South senatorial election. Speaking to reporters in Awka on Wednesday, Nzeribe said apart from the irregularities that characterised the election, there were alterations on the result sheets and falsification of results from the wards that were weighty enough to invalidate the declaration. Nzeribe, who was the All Progressives Grand Alliance candidate in the election, said contrary to the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 and the 1999 Constitution (As Amended) that a political party should sponsor one candidate, the PDP presented Uba and Mr. Nicholas Ukachukwu. He showed result sheets to prove his point that Uba and Ukachukwu and Uba were indeed the two candidates of the PDP in the election. “In some result sheets, it was the name of Ukachukwu that was entered, while the name of Uba was entered in others. Yet in some other result sheets, Uba and Ukachukwu’s names were written together. “This gave the PDP an unfair advantage over the other parties in the election,” he said. By Emmanuel Obe, Awka Courtesy Of: Punch