Contrary to plans for a supplementary election in some wards and polling units in Abia State, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, has said that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will encounter a credibility crisis, if it fails to declare him winner of the April 11 governorship election.
Ikpeazu, who polled 248,459 votes against Chief Alex Otti of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) who scored 165,407, said that with 83, 053 votes ahead of Otti, he is already a winner.
He said both the INEC’s Resident Electoral Commission for Abia State, Professor Celina Oko and the Returning Officer, Professor Benjamin Ozumba, did not hide their bias in declaring the Abia governorship election inconclusive where there is a clear winner with wide margin.
In a statement in Umuahia, the state capital, Ikpeazu said: “The case of Abia State governorship election result will definitely raise so much credibility and integrity questions against Professor Jega and INEC. It is unheard of that in an election where the winner has 83,053 votes against loser is declared inconclusive.
“INEC has accepted and announced result from the 17 local government areas of Abia, and I scored 248,459 while Alex Otti got 165,407, which means that Otti has 83,053 votes deficit, instead of declaring me winner, the Resident Electoral Commission for Abia State, Professor Mrs. Celina Oko, who I later got to understand is a relative of Otti, got a willing partner in the person of Professor Ozumba.
“Going from the result already announced and entered into INEC form EC8D, which is summary of results from the 17 local government areas of Abia State, collated at the state level, declared and duly signed by Professor Ozumba, and all the accredited agents of political parties in the state collation centre in Umuahia, including Chief Ahamdi Nweke, of APGA, and Dr. Solomon Ogunji of the PDP, shows I am the winner of the election.”
“In that result, the No. of registered voters is 1,217,632. No. of accredited voters is 470,900, total valid votes is 430,561, rejected votes is 8,893 and total votes cast is 439,454. PDP has 248 ,459, while APGA has 165,406, and I have a margin of 83,053 ahead of Otti, what in earth is preventing INEC from seeing that I have
made 25% of the votes cast in the 2/3 of the local government areas in the state, and scored majority number of votes cast, and by the provision of the constitution he is already a winner.”
Speaking on the call by Otti for the cancelation of result from Obingwa, Dr. Ikpeazu said: “I do not blame Otti because he lacks the knowledge of the voting strength of each local government areas in the state.
“Otti has never bothered to ask why is that since 1999, all the deputy governors that Abia has had are either from Obingwa, Osisioma or Ugwunagbo local government areas, and these three LGAs formed the former Obioma Ngwa Local government. These are the most populated LGAs in Abia. And the three LGAs are political active.
“Again Obingwa and Osisioma has alway produced the highest number of votes in the electoral history of Abia. Otti does not know, and I do not expect him to because he is a stranger in Abia politics.
“If Otti is aware of the voting pattern of Abia, he would not have chosen a deputy from his Federal Constituency in Abia North. There are three senatorial district in Abia, instead of Otti who is from Abia north to chose a deputy from Abia South in other to get votes from there, he went and chose his sister from Ohafia in the same Abia North as his running mate, how does he expect people from Abia south, and central to vote him? He is simply exposing his political naïvety.
“Again, Otti failed to understand that the Ukwa/ngwa people have never been governor since the history of the world, and this is the closer we have come to it. So our people trooped out in their number to vote me from Isialangwa to Ukwa.
“Again during the presidential election, Obingwa also pulled the highest number votes, so there is no basis for otti’s allegation. It is unfortunate his desperation has pushed him too far that he don’t even know when to stop.”
In a related development, the Abia State chatter of the PDP has written Jega, demanding immediately declaration of Ikpeazu as the governor-elect of the state.
In a letter titled: “Okezie Ikpeazu: winner of Abia governorship race” signed by the state PDP chairman, Senator Emma Nwaka, the party describes the decision of INEC in Abia as a charade, stressing that it can’t fathom the basis for not declaring Ikpeazu.
“We are constrain to call your attention to the charade going on in Abia State chapter of your commission under Professor Selina Oko. Under her watch, Professor Benjamin Ozumba as Returning Officer for the governorship election declared the election inconclusive contrary to every available evidence. It is difficult to fathom the basis on which the Returning Officer instead of declaring Ikpeazu of PDP the winner of the Abia governorship election, opted to declare it inconclusive.”
Citing various relevant provisions of the constitution and the Electoral Act, the Abia PDP said: “INEC is left with no option than to declare Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu winner of the 2015. It is to be noted that the number of registered voters is irrelevant in the determination of the person who is duly elected at the close of polls.”
“However, if INEC, of any reason insists on the rerun, PDP will insist that the Resident Electoral Commission, Professor Selina Oko, and Professor Benjamin Ozumba, the Returning Officer both whom have clearly demonstrated their bais against the winner be dropped from the exercise.”
