Politics

APC candidate rejects Abia Central election result over omission of name

Published

1 year ago

March 1, 2023

Chief Samuel Onuigbo, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Abia Central Senatorial District, has rejected the outcome of the Feb. 25 National Assembly election.

His rejection of the result was over the omission of his party and name in the result sheet.

Onuigbo told newsmen in Umuahia on Wednesday that he rejected in its totality the figure of 7,997 votes allocated to him and his party by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He said: “It is very astonishing that the conduct of last Saturday’s Elections left much to be desired as INEC failed in its statutory responsibility of ensuring free, fair and credible poll.

“It is disheartening to inform you that INEC failed to include the name of my party on the result sheet for the 2023 Abia Central Senatorial Election.

“Consequently, the documentation of my scores in the Election was shambolic.

“This made a mess of your votes for me and left our votes at the mercy of the Presiding Officers who chose to either leave out the result, record it among the invalid or in rare cases create a column with their own hands to enter it,” he said.

Onuigbo queried why his name was missing on the result sheet, after INEC had uploaded it on its portal as APC Senatorial Candidate on Dec. 22, 2022, following his Court of Appeal victory on Nov. 30, 2022.

According to him, this puzzle should be resolved by INEC and the leadership of my party, APC that made no effort to correct the anormally at the appropriate time.

Onuigbo, representing Ikwuano/Umuahia North/Umuahia South Federal Constituency, said that he wrote a complaint letter to INEC on Feb. 26, but the commission failed to correct it despite promise to do so.

The two-term legislator displayed before the newsmen, a photocopy of the result sheet for Senatorial election, which he obtained from INEC, as evidence for his claim.

He said that he was consulting with his attorneys on the appropriate response to the grave omission.

Onuigbo appealed to his supporters to remain peaceful and law abiding “in the face of the provoking situation.”

He congratulated Sen. Bola Tinubu on his victory at the Presidential election, as well as other winners in the Feb. 25 elections.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that INEC had on Monday, declared Mr Darlington Nwokocha of Labour Party (LP) as the winner of the Abia Central Senatorial election.

The Returning Officer, Prof. Herbert Udo had announced that Nwokocha polled 92,116, while Rtd. Col. Augustine Akobundu of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) came second with 41,447 votes.

He had said that Onuigbo of APC scored 7,997 votes, while also declaring that Chukwumere Wachukwu of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) got 7, 395 votes.

Headline

I’ll Turn Ondo Into Another Lagos, Says Wale Akinterinwa Ahead Of APC Primaries

Published

2 weeks ago

April 3, 2024

Gift Oyekunmi

Wale Akinterinwa, a governorship hopeful on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC), says he will turn Ondo into another Lagos, the country’s commercial capital, if elected governor.

The Ondo APC governorship primary election is scheduled for April 20 while the state-wide election will be held on November 16.

Speaking during his official declaration at the ruling party’s secretariat in Akure, the state capital, on Tuesday, Akinterinwa said he will make Ondo an industrialised state.

The governorship hopeful who had worked in Lagos civil service, said he would utilise the natural resources in the state to attract investments.

“We will turn Ondo into another Lagos state in terms of development because we have what it takes, in terms of coast. We must ensure that the port comes alive and that will be a game changer,” Akinterinwa said.

“But, beyond that, we also have the landmass and ought to be an agrarian state. So, we are going to take agriculture to the next level while we encourage and support the local farmers.

“We will also attract investors who will invest in agriculture so that we will be exporting finished products. We will not just be producing for the table but we will be producing for export.”

On security, Akinterinwa said his economic initiatives would get most youth employed and lead to reduction in the rate of insecurity in the state.

“For security, part of our challenges today is because today is because we have many unemployed youths. So, Amotekun founded by our late governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and other South West governors will be strengthened so that with appropriate security in place, we can have development,” he said.

Headline

Why I Ignored Labour Party National Convention — Peter Obi

Published

3 weeks ago

March 30, 2024

Gift Oyekunmi

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party for 2023 elections has declared his stance on the recent national convention of the party that saw Barr Julius Abure emerge as Julius Abure emerge as national chairman.

Addressing Nigerians on X Space hosted by Parallel Facts on Friday, Peter Obi said he ignored the convention because the party leadership under Abure failed to do wide consultation with key stakeholders of the party before embarking on the said convention.

The former Anambra Governor emphasised the need for the right thing to be done to salvage the party, adding that he is more passionate about building a new Nigeria than building a new Labour Party.