Emmanuel Ugwu in Umuahia
The Senator representing Abia North and the senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in last Saturday’s National Assembly, Mao Ohuabunwa yesterday vehemently kicked against the result of the Abia North senatorial district, won by a former governor of the state and All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Orji Uzor Kalu, saying that contrary to reports, the election was inconclusive.
He told journalists at Umuahia, the state capital that it was wrong for Orji Uzor Kalu “to have gone to town proclaiming that he won the senatorial election”.
According to him, the Returning Officer for Abia North senatorial election, Dr. Charles Anumudu merely announced the result and did not declare anybody as having been “returned” elected since the poll was inconclusive.
The Abia North senator said that 38,526 votes were cancelled/rejected after the votes had already been collated and announced at the polling units.
He said that the cancelled votes came from 22 polling units in Nkporo and 72 polling units in Arochukwu (Ohuabunwa’s LGA).
Ohuabunwa stated that from the result announced after the cancellation, it was clear that the number of cancelled votes was almost five times the margin of lead, which was 10,400.
He argued that since the margin of lead between the two leading candidates (Kalu and Ohuabunwa) is not in excess of the total number of registered voters in the affected polling units, the returning officer did not make a return as provided in Sections 26 and 56 of Electoral Act.
He, therefore, called on INEC to conduct election in the affected polling units and then announce appropriate results to avert “setting Abia North on fire”.
