next governor of AnambraState is to take place tomorrow in
210 polling units across is local government areas of 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.
Via: Vanguard
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