Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter O
All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in
last Saturday's governorship election in the
state, Senator Chris Ngige, yesterday
squabbled over the alleged killing of two
female protesters in Awka.
Ngige's spokesman, Mr. Okelo Madukaife, had
in a statement claimed that the two women
met their death when policemen shot into a
crowd of women protesting the conduct of the
election.
However, Obi's Senior Special Assistant,
Media and Publicity, Mr. Valentine Obienyem,
disputed the claim, saying it was a figment of
Ngige's imagination.
Also, the crisis of confidence between the
state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) and the party's governorship candidate,
Mr. Tony Nwoye, over the election remained
unresolved following their different positions
on the outcome of the poll.
According to the Ngige camp, the two women,
identified as Anne Ifesi and Hannah Njiko,
were feared dead when a contingent of
policemen tried to disperse the protesters who
were marching on the headquarters of the
Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) in Awka, to demand the cancellation of
the governorship election.
In addition, it said 19 others who sustained
varying degree of injuries from beatings and
the inhalation of teargas were rushed to a
private hospital in Awka for treatment.
It added that some 700 women, ranging from
ages 25 to 70 and drawn from the 21 local
government areas of the state, were on their
way to the INEC headquarters when policemen
manning various points at the INEC office
intercepted them and engaged them in an
argument.
“The situation degenerated when one of the
riot policemen shot live ammunition twice on
the ground burrowing the tarred road, before
his colleagues acting on a telephone clearance
from what one officer later described as order
from above, dispersed nine teargas canisters
into the crowd, in quick succession.
“This led to a stampede that left five women
unconscious and 19 injured. But undeterred,
the women regrouped at the Arroma Junction,
where they were intercepted by men of the
State Security Service (SSS) who tried to seize
their placards, but the women engaged them
in a physical combat, recovering all the
placards
“Some of the placards read: ‘Jonathan, leave
Anambra Alone’, 'Free and fair election is a
must!’, 'Jega is worse than Iwu', ‘Sack
Onukogu Now’ and ‘No fresh election, No
governor,’” the statement from Ngige’s aide
added.
It explained that of the five unconscious
women who were rushed to the private
hospital, three regained consciousness while
the two others were feared dead.
But Obi disputed the claim, saying it was
concocted by the Ngige camp to draw
sympathy from the public following his loss in
the governorship election.
Obienyem, in a statement yesterday, said:
“Journalists in Awka brought to my attention
the news being circulated by Dr. Chris Ngige's
Media Assistant, Mr. Okelo Madukaife, alleging
that two protesting women where shot at
Awka.
“I was later informed that Dr. Chris Ngige
personally sent text messages to them as he
did when the Uke tragedy occurred begging
them to use the story.
“The story is completely fabricated and the
names mentioned are non-existent, otherwise
let them mention the name of the hospital.
“How can a former governor, illegal though,
and now a serving senator, be an embodiment
of fraud? He is desperately trying to convince
people that if the election is not cancelled,
there will be violence.”
The election has also caused a disagreement
in the camp of the PDP as the state leadership
of the party and Nwoye maintained different
positions yesterday on its outcome.
The state party Chairman, Mr. Ken Emeakayi,
at a press conference in Awka, while
commending party members and the people of
Anambra State for their peaceful and orderly
conduct during the election also thanked
President Goodluck Jonathan for providing
adequate security and the enabling
environment that made the “hitch-free
election” possible.
He also condemned the attempt by the APC to
discredit the governorship election.
He expressed the readiness of the PDP to
participate in the supplementary election
whenever INEC is ready for it.
Emeakayi said the state PDP was aligning
itself with the stand of the national leadership
of the party on the election and its outcome
while asking INEC to complete the election
and announce the winner.
He feigned ignorance that Nwoye had
distanced himself from the supplementary
election because of its shoddy conduct.
“I am not aware that the candidate of the party
has disagreed with the outcome of the election
and distanced himself from the supplementary
election when INEC fixes it.
“I am not aware he said so. I am not the party.
The party is the NWC and it has said we will
participate in the supplementary election. The
state working committee of the party met
today (yesterday) towards ensuring that we
participate. The candidate is not the party,” he
said.
But the campaign organisation of Nwoye,
faulted the party's chairman, saying it was
wrong for the party not to see anything wrong
with an election that was declared
inconclusive, and adjudged to be marred by
malpractices and irregularities.
The Director General of the campaign
organisation, Mr. Osita Ezenwa, at a press
conference in Awka yesterday, said their
candidate had earlier pointed out that the
election was flawed and should be cancelled.
“The election has been poorly conducted and
what remains to be done is to cancel it and
conduct a fresh election. If PDP loses from the
fresh process, we will congratulate the winner;
no problem, but to foist the result of a gravely
flawed election on us is unacceptable,” he
said.
He flayed some party officials, especially PDP
National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olisa Metuh,
for congratulating APGA in an inconclusive
election when a winner was yet to emerge and
wondered why he was in a hurry to do so.
“Nwoye’s name was not in the register of
voters for the election. He was our candidate
in the election. We call for the total
cancellation of the election. Prof. Jega is a
forthright person and we hope he will do what
is right,” he said.
According to him, since Nwoye is the party’s
candidate in the election, it will be wrong to
shave his head behind his back by making
pronouncements on whether he will participate
in the supplementary election without
consulting him.
“Before somebody makes that kind of a
pronouncement, you need to consult the
candidate and no consultation took place. So
they are on their own. The only person who
has the power to determine what step to take
is the candidate.
“The election is still on ongoing and until the
chief returning officer declares the results, the
INEC can still cancel the election because it is
a sham. It was marred by irregularities and
malpractices across board.
“We don’t agree with the INEC when it said it
lacked the power to cancel the election and
start a fresh one,” he added.
INEC is expected to hold today, what a top
official of the commission described as an
“operational audit” of the report submitted by
electoral officials that conducted the election.
Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman,
Mr. Kayode Idowu, confirmed that the meeting
would hold today to study the report submitted
by the electoral officials.
However, as the nation awaits the outcome of
the meeting where INEC would consider a day
for the supplementary election, a former
governorship aspirant, Chief Mike Okoye, has
called on the leadership of the National
Assembly to intervene to stop the growing
tension in the state.
He also called on INEC Chairman, Prof.
Attahiru Jega, to consider holding a fresh
election in the state to douse tension.
He said INEC had committed a technical
mistake having proceeded to officially declare
the collated results of the local government
and constituencies without seeking proper
legal advice.
In a statement in Abuja, the constitutional
lawyer said the commission in his view rightly
exercised the powers conferred on it by virtue
of Section 53(2) of the Electoral Act.
“The commission in my view ought not to
have declared as final the collated results of
the local government areas and constituencies
before it ordered another election in the
affected polling units.
“Since the commission, wrongly, in my view,
proceeded to officially declare the collated
results of all the affected local government
areas and constituencies, it is without power
to alter the final figures of the results declared
for any reason whatsoever.
“Only a court of law can alter or amend the
figures of the final result officially declared by
the commission,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment