The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the presidential election results in the 21 Local Government Areas of Anambra with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar polling 524, 738 votes.
Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), won in all the 21 council areas, while President Muhammadu Buhari’s APC emerged second with 33, 298 votes.
Prof. Francis Otunta, Vice Chancellor of the Michael Okpara University, Umudike, who served as INEC Collation Officer for the 2019 Presidential Election in Anambra released the results in the early hours of Tuesday in Awka.
Otunta stated that Mr John Gbor, candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), scored 30, 034 votes to emerge third, with Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, the candidate of the Young Progressives Party polling only 4, 091 votes.
He stated that Anambra had a total of 2.389, 332 million registered voters, out of which 675, 273 were accredited for the Feb. 23 Presidential and National Assembly Elections.
Otunta stated that 605, 734 were the total number of votes cast at the poll, while 19, 301 votes were rejected.
According to Otunta; “the Anambra presidential election results, as collated, will be handed over to the INEC National Chairman in Abuja who will add it to others across the 36 states and the FCT, before the final announcement of the winner’’.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that Dr Chris Ngige, APC presidential election agent in Anambra, staged a walkout before Otunta, flanked by INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Anambra, Dr Nkwachukwu Orji and others announced the result.
Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Employment, protested the inclusion of results from some parts of Idemili North area in the Anambra presidential election results.
He insisted that there were reported cases of violence and disruption of the process which adversely affected the outcome of the exercise.
APC state chairman, Chief Basil Ejidike, added that apart from Idemili North, four other council areas recorded problems which affected the exercise.
Dr. Obi Ogbolu, the state agent of the PDP in the Presidential election, said the party accepted the results tendered by the Police since the original copy was damaged by hoodlums.
NAN reports that Mr Rabiu Ladodo, the Commissioner of Police in Anambra, had earlier tendered duplicate copies of the Idemili North results given to the police by INEC.
Ladodo said the tendering of the duplicate copy of the results followed a request by INEC that its original copy was damaged by hoodlums during violence after the collation.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state had stated that the commission approached the police for their copy based on a relevant section of the Electoral Act.