Ngor-Okpala bye-election: 100 INEC staff abducted, forced to thumbprint
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Mr Blyden Okanni of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the Ngor Okpala State Constituency by-election in Imo.
Prof. Dennis Akoh, the INEC Returning Officer for the election, announced this in Owerri on Sunday.
Akoh said that Okanni polled 9,248 votes to defeat his closest rival, Mr Emeka Nwachukwu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who scored 7,161 votes.
Akoh, a professor at the Federal University, Ndufu-Alike Ikwor (FUNAI) in Ebonyi, said the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Mr Christopher Nwaiwu placed third with 501 votes.
He said out of the 11 candidates that contested the bye-election, the only female and candidate of the National Rescue Movement (NRM), Mrs. Joy Nze, got 15 votes.
He said a total of 18,083 voters were accredited for the poll, out of a total of the 94,118 registered voters in the area.
He said the total valid votes cast were 17,280, while 582 votes were rejected.
Earlier, scores of ad-hoc staff of the INEC for the Saturday’s bye-election for Ngor Okpala State Constituency in Imo were abducted by unknown persons who allegedly forced them to thumbprint on the ballot papers.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), in Imo State , Prof. Chukwuemeka Ezeonu, disclosed this Sunday while briefing newsmen on what transpired during the bye-election.
He warned that those ballot papers from the abducted INEC ad-hoc staff, would not be accepted by the INEC.
According to him “We have received the report of violence of election and disruption of polls on some polling units and attacks on our personnel,” adding “though so far, no casualty has been reported from the violence”
He said: “Security men have been up and doing to rescue some of our staff trapped in the violence. We remain grateful to them and pray for them to succeed in the work they are doing.
“We have noticed with great worries an abduction of some of our Ad-hoc staff with the election materials towards the end of the polls. While the earlier violence started with the snatching of election materials, it ended with the abduction of our staff, ballot papers and materials. Some of our abducted Adhoc staff were blindfolded and taken to a residence where they were compelled to thump print the ballot papers.”
The REC reassured the general public that the results manufactured from unknown places will not be collected pointing out that the number of votes cast must tally with the number of accredited voters
Meanwhile, the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA Caretaker Chairman, in Imo State, Chief John Iwuala has condemned the abduction of INEC staff and stealing of sensitive materials by some political bandits.
The APGA chairman in a statement, described as despicable and fraudulent the hijacking of INEC sensitive materials by political thugs suspected to be loyal to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
He said, further, “the stealing of the INEC materials came after the news had gone to the public that APC candidate was not leading in virtually all the polling booths and electoral wards in Ngor Okpala LGA.”
According to him, “for the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Blyden Amajirionwu to be defeated in his own polling booth, is a confirmation that he has been rejected by his people, as he has nothing to offer”
He called on the security agencies in the State to arrest and prosecute those behind the stealing and hijack of the election materials, while appealing to APGA supporters to remain calm.
He added that his party will never accept anything less than free, fair and credible election; while commending party faithful for resisting all intimidations by APC to rig the poll.
Similarly, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Imo State rose from it’s meeting shortly after the bye election over the weekend to condemn the alleged abduction of the INEC staff and the violence reported during the election
In a statement issued by the state chairman of the party Chief Charles Ugwu on Sunday, drew the attention of the public to the abductions, violence, snatching of ballot boxes, shootings and widespread electoral fraud during the election
He alleged that “the violence and abduction were sponsored by Governor Hope Uzodinma and his cohorts during the Ngor Okpala State Constituency bye-election held on Saturday, 26th February, 2022”.
According to him, “In a brazen show of force, members of APC, including appointees of the Hope Uzodimma-led administration APC members of the Imo State House of Assembly and House of Representatives, invaded Ngor Okpala with a combined team of the Police, Army, Navy, DSS, Uzodinmas militia group, Hopism Strike Force and over 70 buses of armed thugs to unleash terror on innocent voters in Ngor Okpala”
Engr Ugwu said “as a result of violence, INEC staff as well as PDP members and innocent voters were kidnapped, while others were beaten to a pulp and left half-dead in their pool of blood”
According to him, the violence traversed Ngor Okpala from Umuowa, Umuneke, Imerienwe, Logara and continued to the rest of the wards, leaving in their trail, pain, anguish and destruction like an invading army.
He also alleged that they carted away electoral materials and took them into the residences of some APC leaders and to one Santiago Hotels located near the Sam Mbakwe Airport along Owerri-Aba road where they perpetrated the electoral heist.
The ballot papers were thumb-printed right in the hotel and results computed he alleged adding that “it is noteworthy that the candidate of our party, Hon. Emeka Jeff Nwachukwu, was placed under house arrest with armoured tanks stationed in front of his residence at Umuneke while armed thugs shot sporadically to scare away voters from exercising their franchise”
He said “with the undying spirit, the voters in most areas defied the intimidation and went ahead to cast their votes for our party, only for invading army to return at points of collation to snatch results sheets”
The affected wards/booths are:
Ward 1 —008 & 016
Ward 2 —015
Ward 3— 002
Ward 4— 005
Ward 6— 001, 003, 007, 009
Ward 8— 004, 005, 006, 007, 008, 009, 011.
Ward 11—002, 010 & 012
He said, “we in PDP therefore condemns in strong terms, these acts of violence, abductions and electoral fraud by the APC in Imo State”
He further said that the party insists that INEC must scrutinise and summarily reject results of those contentious polling units where he alleged, APC agents perpetrated these violent acts we
“INEC must resist every attempt to induce, intimidate them to lending itself to the obnoxious agenda of denying the people the right of choosing their representatives, in exercise of their democratic rights and civic duties”, he started.
He however commended the REC, Prof. Chukwuemeka Ezeonu and the Commission’s staff for resisting these invaders and standing up to the truth.
“We also demand the immediate arrest of all the appointees, allies, associates and agents of APC and Gov Uzodimma who have been identified in the shameful abductions, violence and electoral fraud in Ngor Okpala”, he added.
Similarly, the INEC has declared the winners of the bye-elections conducted in Ondo and Cross River states.
This followed the verdict by the electorates in the different state and federal constituencies in the three states.
In Ondo State, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mayokun Alade, has been declared winner of the Akure North/South Federal Constituency in the election held on Saturday.
Alade polled a total of 26,370 votes to defeat his closest rival, Olumuyiwa Adu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who had 24,201 votes.
The election result was announced by the election collation officer, Professor Rufus Ogunseemi of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, at the collation centre, Akure.
For the bye-election that took place on Saturday in Cross River State, INEC declared Jude Ngaji of the APC the winner of the Ogoja/ Yala Federal Constituency.
Ngaji raked in a total vote of 22,778 votes to defeat his closest opponent of the PDP who scored a total of 20,590.
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Mr. Musa Agah of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency by-election.
Dr Oyeyinka Oyeyinde, the INEC Returning Officer announced the result on Sunday in Jos.
Oyeyinde said that Agah scored 40,343 votes to beat his closest rival Mr Adam Alkali of Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) who came second with 37, 757 votes.
He said that Mr Joseph Aku of All Progressives Congress (APC) came third with 26,111 votes.
“Agah having satisfied the requirements of the law is the declared the winner of Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency and is hereby returned elected,” he said
The returning officer said that 11 political parties participated in the election.
The constituency has 30 registration areas centres, a total of 599,282 registered voters, out of which 108, 318 voters were accredited for the election, while 10811 voters cast their votes.
