Saturday’s governorship election held in Anambra State was riddled with complaints of poor preparation by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) despite the commission’s earlier promise of ensuring a hitch-free election.
As a result of this and other irregularities, the election was cancelled in 65 polling units of the state. The units have not been named at the time of this report; but confirming the development, INEC said the action was taken following some irregularities discovered and the threat by some parties to reject the declaration of any result if the election is not concluded in some of the areas where voting could not hold as a result of the delay in getting voting materials to some of the units.
Huhuonline.com learnt that voting did not hold in Akpakaogwe, Ogidi because thugs hired by one of the political parties in the election stormed the places, scared the voters away, dragged electoral officers to a bush and beat them up mercilessly before snatching ballot boxes and election materials. It was learnt that the security officials at the affected polling units looked on as the thugs reigned.
In Obosi, election materials only got to units at 3.30pm, resulting in mass protest by voters who prevented the election from taking place. Many of them accused the electoral body of trying to create confusion in favour of a favoured candidate. It was learnt that the electoral officer left with the materials when accreditation was supposed to begin only to return the materials at noon. INEC put the blame on the electoral officer for Obosi, saying he had been arrested, but the people refused.
Some monitors observed that the total turnout was low because many of the voters left the polling units when materials did not get to the units on time. “
“There are polling units which had 500 voters in the register but at the end, only 40 people were accredited and voted. This was so in many of the units and this would call to question the outcome of the polls”, one of them told Huhuonline.com, confirming that materials did not reach some of the units. But some others said there were unprecedented turnouts in some areas of the state.
In Nnewi, as in many other parts of the state, many voters did not find their names in the register, thus resulting in their inability to vote. Ihiala, Nnewi, Ekwulobia, Aguata and Obosi also witnessed late takeoff of the voting exercise at about noon, Willie Obiano, candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), said he was looking forward to a landslide victory in his own favour. Huhuonline.com learnt that there was no single security agent at his Aguleri hometown. It could best be described as a free day in the area.
While the challenges and complaints lingered, APGA remained unperturbed by whatever others claimed were hitches. Obiano also denied the rumour that he had withdrawn from the race
Chris Ngige of the All Progressives Congress (APC) described the late arrival of materials to Anambra Central Senatorial District as a ploy to rig the election. Materials did not get to Idemili North and South of the state till about noon.
Ngige, who had his accreditation at Nkwo Ide Public Square in the Idemili South Local Government Area of the state, further accused security agents of barring some of his party agents from polling units. He also alleged that many of his supporters were not allowed for accreditation all over Nnewi South Local Government Area.
Tony Nwonye, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his family could not vote as he and members of his family did not find their names in the voters’ register in their unit in Nsugbe, Anambra North Local Government Area. While raising alarm, however, he wished he would emerge winner of the election.
The Labour Party candidate, Ifeanyi Uba, came out to conclude accreditation modalities at Nnewi, his home town at about 10.30am.
Many residents of the state confirmed that the election was marred by logistic problems. Idemili area of Anambra, a stronghold of APC candidate, witnessed the consequence of a late start of election.
Resident Electoral Commissioner for INEC in Anambra State, Professor Chukwuemeka Onukogu confirmed the delay in the arrival of materials to Idemili LGA and two others, but said this was because of the arrest of some National Youth Service Corps members who were on election duty by security agents. He said the commission would not hesitate to extend election where issues are discovered.
Nasir El-Rufai Detained
Heavily armed security agents on Saturday stormed the Finotel Hotel in Awka, Anambra, where top APC member and former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai was lodged. El-Rufai was in the state to monitor the exercise. Confirming the incident, El-Rufai said the SSS had barricaded the gates of the hotel and prevented reporters or his lawyers from having access to him.
Defending El-Rufai’s detention, Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi said he did not understand what the former minister, who hails from Katsina State, was doing in Anambra on election day. El-Rufai was not allowed to move throughout the period of the election.
APC Raises Alarm
The All Progressives Congress (APC) raised alarm over the late or non-delivery of voting materials to the party’s strongholds, describing the action as a deliberate attempt to disenfranchise its supporters and make the election anything but free and fair.
In a statement issued from the party’s election situation room in Lagos on Saturday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party noted early reports from the state, which indicate a pattern of harassment of its members and the violation of INEC guidelines, among others, asking Nigerians to take note.
It specifically decried the continued harassment of its Deputy National Secretary, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai by armed State Security Service (SSS) personnel since his arrival at Awka on Friday night for the election.
APC disclosed that apart from restricting Mallam el-Rufai to the Finotel Hotel where he is staying, the SSS personnel also barged into the hotel’s restaurant while he was eating and collected the phones of everyone there, apparently to prevent their pictures from being taken as they laid a siege on the hotel.
“These SSS personnel claimed to be acting on orders from above. Whoever gave them the order, we in the APC believe it is illegal to prevent a duly accredited top official of a party involved in an election from moving around to monitor the election. He has a right to be at the election as our Deputy National Secretary”, the party said.
It also decried a situation in which a polling unit is situated right under the billboard bearing the pictures of APGA candidate, Willie Obiano, and his running mate in Aguleri, in clear violation of INEC guidelines. APC condemned a situation in which voting materials were delivered late or not delivered at all to the party’s strongholds, including Idemili North and South, Akwa South, Dunukofia, Onitsha North and South, Orumba North and South, Oyi, Ogbaru and Nnewi North.
“As at the time of issuing this situation report, election materials have not yet arrived at Idemili North and South, Ogidi ward 1, Nkpor ward 1, Abatate, Booth 012 of Ward 2 Nibo and one booth at umunnakwe hall. There is no INEC or Police presence at Obi Ilo Okoye polling unit in Awada, Onitsha; INEC register for 2011 were not brought to Palm Site Market 1&2; INEC is refusing to accredit voters
in Awka South LG Ward 8; In Nnwei north Otolo ward 03, polling unit 14, only six people out of 77 were accredited and others couldn’t find their name; In Ward 8, Awka Government House, PDP agents are openly soliciting for votes in exchange for money, just as it is happening in Onitsha North Ward 100 and in CKC Adazi Nnukwu, and at Nteje Unit 004 in Oyi LG, APGA and PDP are negotiating how to share votes.
“These are just a few of the examples of the shenanigans going on right under the nose of INEC, and we demand an immediate rectification so that no citizen will be disenfranchised, and so that all the parties will have a level playing ground. If this is not done urgently, the promise of a free, fair and transparent election in
Anambra by the President and INEC would have been nothing but a ruse”.
APC warned that it will not accept the results of the governorship election in the state if voting did not hold in all local governments, especially in the party’s strongholds of Idemili North and South as well as Akwa South. It also condemned INEC for “its apparently-contrived logistic nightmare” that left thousands of voters unable to exercise their franchise, and demanded the immediate removal of the incompetent and conniving Resident Electoral Commissioner for Anambra, Prof. Chukwuemeka Onukogu.
APC expressed astonishment with INEC’s confirmation that materials meant for Idemili North Local Government, which has 180,000 voters, had been hijacked, without saying who hijacked the ballot papers and why, and without explaining why the materials meant for APGA and PDP strongholds were not hijacked.
The party said equally astonishing was the fact that the voter’s registers for Idemili South, the direct Local Government of the APC candidate, Dr. Chris Ngige, did not contain the names of voters in the local government, despite the assurances by INEC Chairman Attahiru Jega.
Before the election, political parties were given voter’s registers that largely contained the names of most voters. However, about four days to the election, Prof Jega said at an interactive stakeholders’ forum that there were problems with the registers, which would be rectified before the election.
“However, when the supposedly-corrected registers were brought back, most of the authentic names in them have disappeared, without explanation”.
APC recalled that it also complained about the partiality and unprofessionalism of Resident Electoral Commissioner for Anambra, Prof Onukogu when he conducted the 2011 election, saying:
“In 2011, when Prof. Onukogu conducted the general elections in the state, he was very partial. During the Onitsha South 2 House of Assembly constituency and Idemili South House of Assembly polls, he declared the results of both inconclusive, only for him to announce the results at 12 midnight. After we challenged the results in court and a rerun was ordered, we won both constituencies.
“We subsequently petitioned INEC and the Commission assured us that the same person will not be allowed to conduct subsequent election. Alas, he was left in place to do another damage to INEC as an institution through his glaring incompetence and partiality, which have seriously affected the credibility of this governorship election”.
