Gideon Arinze in Enugu
The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Enugu State chapter has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to, as a matter of urgency, declare a winner for the governorship election held in the state.
INEC had suspended the collation of results for the governorship election in Enugu State to allow it review results from two outstanding local governments areas of Nsukka and Nkanu East.
Addressing newsmen yesterday, Enugu State chairman of IPAC, Edwin Ikechukwu, said any action short of the announcement would be outside the law and could bring anarchy to an already fragile situation.
He said the collation centre was not an election tribunal or the law court where redress would be sought, adding that the centre was only expected to accept results as they come, collate and announce them, and ultimately declare the winner.
He explained that after discharging his statutory responsibility of collating the results of all the 17 local government areas, including those of Nkanu East LGA and Nkanu East Local Government Areas, the remaining responsibility for the State Returning Officer was to announce results and declare the winner.
“We call INEC’s attention to the case of the Presidential and National Assembly elections where its Chairman, Prof Yakub Mahmood, stood his ground, completed the collation process and announced the result despite all protest,” he said.
He said that it was surprising why the announcement of the final results and declaration of the winner in the Enugu governorship election, which is adjudged comparatively free, fair and credible should be placed on hold.
“We are therefore urging the resident electoral commissioner in the state and the state returning officer to as a matter of urgency do the needful by announcing the result of governorship election without delay and declare the winner with immediate effect” he said.
On issues relating to accreditation and votes cast in a polling unit and the fate of such votes where they exceed the number of accredited voters in such units, the PDP said such are guided by Section 51(2) of the Act.
“The position of the law is that a Returning Officer has no power to cancel any results at the stage of collation. The only option open to any person dissatisfied with the process is to resort to Section 130(1) of the Electoral Act, which vests the power to receive and adjudicate petitions complaining of an undue election or undue return in an election in the tribunal or court.
“As a matter of fact, we are dissatisfied with the result from Nsukka Local Government Area. We are dissatisfied with the results from Udenu, Isi-Uzo, Ezeagu, and more. But is not for us to take the laws into our hands or indulge in self-help. That is why we are ready to go and interrogate those results at the appropriate quarters because we can no longer complain as the collation has been completed.
“INEC cannot choose the ones you will collate to release the result and the ones you will collate and withhold the result”, the PDP emphasised.
