The three candidates for last Saturday’s rerun governorship elections in Taraba, Imo and Abia States on Sunday kicked against the results in their respective states.
The candidates- Aisha Alhassan of All Progressives Congress (APC), Emeka Ihedioha of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Alex Otti of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) told journalists separately that the elections in their states were charaterised by irregularies.
While Alhassan and Otti said they would go to the tribunal to challenge the outcomes, Ihedioha, said he would leave the decision on whether to challenge the result to his party.
Alhassan was defeated by PDP’s Daruis Ishaku while Otti lost to Okezie Ikpeazu, also of the PDP. Ihedioha, who is the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, lost to Governor Rochas Okorocha of the APC.
In Jalingo, Taraba State, the candidate told a news conference that the entire electoral process was like a “daylight robbery.”
She said, “The governorship election in Taraba State was characterised by violence, massive rigging, ballot snatching and abuse of the card readers in substantial parts of the state by the PDP and their allies.”
Alhassan contended that results ascribed to Wukari, Donga, Takum, Sardauna, Zing, Yorro, Kurmi and some parts of Ussa, Karim-Lamido, Bali, Ardo-Kola and Lau local government areas were not acceptable as they did not reflect the true outcome of the election in Taraba.
Alleging that all the complaints about irregularities and abuse of the election guidelines were reported to INEC, she said she would challenge the outcome at the tribunal.
INEC Returning Officer in the state, Kyari Mohammed, said Ishaku scored 369,318 votes as against Alhassan’s 275,984.
Mohammed said there were 1,461,645 total registered voters in the state, of which 787,516 were accredited for the election.
He explained that the total valid votes cast were 681,166, while the total votes rejected were 174,131.
The April 11 governorship election in the state was declared inconclusive due to what INEC described as widespread irregularities.
In Umuahia, the APGA National leadership claimed that like the April 11 polls in the state, Saturday’s exercise was marred by irregularities.
The party’s Chairman, Mr. Victor Umeh, told journalists that INEC colluded with the PDP to rig the election in favour of Ikpeazu
He expressed shock that INEC ignored APGA’s earlier call for the outright cancellation of results from three Local Government Areas in the April 11 poll but instead reinstated the cancelled results.
Umeh, who contested and lost the senatorial election in Anambra State on March 28, said, “The controversy that was generated by the returning officer in reinstating the election results he had cancelled in Obingwa, Osisioma and Isialangwa North necessitated APGA’s earlier call for the cancelation of the “ out of the reality figures from the affected councils.”
He insisted that INEC ought to have sustained the cancellation of the results from the three councils as it did in Imo State in 2011.
Umeh alleged that “ even the re- run was held under incoherent preparations as up till Friday night, details of polling units remained speculative. “
He said, “APGA rejects the result of the poll as announced not because we cannot lose elections. We can accept losing an election through a credible process. We won the election clearly but our mandate was stolen.
“Accordingly, we will not resort to self help; we will challenge the result at the tribunal.’’
“APGA will firmly stand by Otti until he reclaims his stolen mandate.’’
Umeh called on the President – elect, Muhammadu Buhari, to probe electoral fraud in the South-East after his inauguration because “while other parts of the country are celebrating democracy, INEC used the zone for an experiment.’’
Otti thanked Abians for “their massive support “for him, and appealed to them to remain calm and prayerful as he prepares to head for the tribunal.
He said, “ Election has come and gone but the battle has just started. Evil cannot prevail over good but if it seems to prevail, it is only for a while.
“Weeping can only endure for a night, joy comes in the morning. We will not resort to brigandage because two wrongs cannot make a right. “
Otti alleged that voters were intimidated and scared from the polling units by coffins paraded in Aba by suspected PDP sympathisers on the eve of the election.
He also alleged that the rerun was fraudulently cancelled in Umunneochi after it had been listed by INEC.
The APC candidate, Nyerere Anyim and his Progressive Peoples Alliance counterpart, Chikwe Udensi, came third and fourth respectively with 10,244 and 4,381 votes.
