IPAC to INEC: Announce already collated results from 17 LGAs in Enugu

Political parties in Enugu State under the auspices of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) have called on the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Mahmood Yakubu to direct the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Enugu State, Dr. Chukwuemeka J. Chukwu and the State Returning Officer, Prof. Maduebibisi O. Iwe to as a matter of urgency announce the already collated results of governorship election from the 17 local government areas and declare the winner of the election without further delay.

IPAC which made the call during a press conference in Enugu, on Tuesday, stated that “any action short of this will be outside the law and could bring anarchy to an already fragile situation,” stressing that “INEC has no power under our laws to review collated results.”

Leaders of the political parties at the press conference were Hon. Chief Edwin Ikechukwu Alor of Accord Party and State Chairman of IPAC; Hon. Innocent Ezeoha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Deputy Chairman of IPAC; Dr. Afam Ani of APP; Barr. Ken Ikeh of APM; Elvis Ugwoke of ZLP who is the Secretary General of IPAC; and Hon. Nnaemeka Oko of AAC.

Others were Hon. Stella Chukwuma of ADC; Hon. Dr. Mrs. Chinyere Madike of ADP; Hon. Louis Chiedozie Ugwu of NRM and Hon. Sir Magnus Ezea of SDP.

The parties maintained that “the results of the 17 Local Government Areas (LGAs), including those of Nkanu East and Nsukka LGAs, were all collated by the State Returning Officer on March 19, 2023” stating that “by the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, the only other duty remaining for the State Returning Officer, who is acting on INEC’s behalf is to add up the figures, announce them, and declare the winner in line with Section 65 and 66 of the Electoral Act 2022.”

Describing the delay in the announcement of the final result of the March 18, 2023 governorship election in Enugu State, which was won by the candidate of the PDP, Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, as “needless confusion and restiveness” IPAC said: It is our strong view that the INEC State Returning Officer has discharged his statutory responsibility by collating the results of all the 17 local government areas, including those of Nkanu East and Nsukka Local Government Areas. The remaining responsibility for the State Returning Officer is to announce results and declare the winner. INEC cannot be a judge in its own case, if any.”

The political parties stressed that “the law in Section 130(1) of the Electoral Act is also mindful to make provisions for the adjudication of any complaint against a return made by the Returning Officer.

“Section 130(1) provides: No election and return at an election under this Act shall be questioned in any manner other than by a petition complaining of an undue election or undue return presented to the competent tribunal or court in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution or of this Act, and in which the person elected or returned is joined as a party.

“The collation centre is not an Election Tribunal or the law court where redress is sought.  The State Collation Center is to accept results as they come, collate and announce them, and ultimately declare the winner.

“Consequently, it is our strong view that the INEC State Returning Officer has discharged his statutory responsibility by collating the results of all the 17 local government areas, including those of Nkanu East and Nsukka Local Government Areas. The remaining responsibility for the State Returning Officer is to announce results and declare the winner. INEC cannot be a judge in its own case, if any.

“We call INEC’s attention to the case of the Presidential and National Assembly elections where the Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu stood his ground, completed the collation process and announced the result despite all protests.

“Equally, the elections in Ebonyi State, Rivers State and Lagos State, which were fraught with violence, ballot box snatching, over-voting and all sorts of complaints were declared despite these shortcomings.

“So, we see no good reason 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 because of the desperation of a few individuals and at the expense of the masses who freely exercised their franchise and made a statement through the ballot.

“We are, therefore, urging the National Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu to direct the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Enugu 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. Any action short of this will be outside the law and could bring anarchy to an already fragile situation.

IPAC further maintained that Enugu State governorship election results from the 17 local government areas of the state were duly collated by INEC State Returning Officer on Sunday, March 19, 2023, reiterating that the statement from INEC National Headquarters suspending collation of results in one LGA in Abia State and two LGAs in Enugu State is not applicable to Enugu case because there is no result that has not been collated in the state prior to the suspension by INEC.

Recall that the Enugu State PDP through its Campaign Council had disagreed with the INEC on its decision to suspend the announcement of the final results and declaration of Dr. Peter Mbah as the winner of the Enugu State governorship contest, stressing that the election management body was overreaching itself, as it could not, by law, suspend the declaration of an already collated result.

The PDP equally also said INEC was wrong to present the Abia and Enugu cases as the same, pointing out that “Putting the Abia and Enugu situations in one basket clearly shows that the national headquarters of INEC is mixing things up or has not been properly briefed. There is absolutely nothing like outstanding local governments as far as the collation process in Enugu State is concerned.

“Unlike the situation in Abia State, the results of the entire 17 LGAs of Enugu State, including those of Nkanu East and Nsukka LGAs, have been fully collated by the Returning Officer, Prof Maduebibisi Ofo Iwe, on Sunday the 19th of March. What remains for the INEC is to sum up the returns by the Local Government Returning Officers and declare our candidate, Dr. Mbah the governor-elect.

“That is why we are saying that INEC is overreaching itself; they have no powers at this stage to suspend the pronouncement or declaration of the winner of the election, which is our candidate.

“Section 64(8) of the Electoral Act 2022 provides that where collation has been completed as in the present case of Enugu State, the duty of the collation officer, who collated the result is to announce the result and make a declaration. Therefore, having collated the results from Nsukka LGA and Nkanu East LGA, the statutory duty and legal responsibility of the State Returning Officer is simply to announce and declare the results, as INEC cannot, by law, suspend the declaration of result already collated,” the PDP 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.

“We believe that the Returning Officer for Nkanu East Local Government Area has duly complied with the provision of Sections 64(4)(a)&(b) and Section 64(a)&(d) of the Electoral Act 2022.

”We consequently restate our position that the only option left to INEC acting through the State Returning Officer for the Enugu State Governorship Election under Section 64(8) of the Electoral Act 2022 is to announce the results and make a declaration of the winner of the election.

“We therefore call on INEC to immediately announce the summation of the 17 local governments it has already collated and declare Dr. Peter Ndubisi Mbah the winner of the March election”, the PDP reiterated.

The PDP also expressed worries that the INEC was already overheating the Enugu polity by the needless delay in the pronouncement of the winner of the governorship election.

“We will continue to caution that INEC should not take the patience of the electorate and people of Enugu for granted. We know what it took us today to rein in their voluminous anger as it relates to the delay in the declaration of Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah as governor-elect and we are calling on the INEC to cease forthwith this foot-dragging and declare our candidate the duly elected candidate in the last election” the PDP stressed.

The party also condemned what it described as desperate and hypocritical approach of the Labour Party to the elections.

“In the instance, our Enugu East senatorial candidate lost his election to return to the Senate to the Labour Party. It was the same process that produced the result that gave Labour Party the victory that also produced the winner of the governorship election in the Nkanu East in the same senatorial zone. But while the Labour Party has accepted the result for the Senate, they are contesting the governorship that the same process produced. This is hypocrisy”, the party concluded.

Vanguard