The Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to swiftly announce the results of Saturday’s governorship election in Abia State in order to prevent a bloodbath in the state.
Similarly, human rights and pro-democracy groups in Abia State have urged INEC to prevent an avoidable crisis by resolving the impasse surrounding the March 18 governorship election.
During a press conference in Umuahia, Jasper Ejimofor, chairman of the Umuahia branch of the NBA, stated that available evidence from INEC indicated that the Labour Party candidate, Dr. Alex Otti, won the election; therefore, he urged the electoral commission to declare him the winner without further delay.
Ejimofor, reading from a prepared statement, stated, “We regret the controversy surrounding the 18th March 2023 Abia governorship election and wish to make the following statement.” As a professional body committed to ensuring justice, unity, peace, and stability in the state, we cannot remain silent at this time, especially when it is clear that there are moves to violate the democratic rights of Abians and prevent them from having the person they have unanimously voted for as their governor. Since INEC has already declared 16 LGAs, The LP candidate is leading with over 90,000 votes, and the remaining LGA of Obingwa has less than 27,000 accredited voters, there are no justifiable reasons for INEC to delay the declaration of Otti as the winner of the election. We therefore call on INEC to declare Alex Otti of the Labour Party as the winner of the governorship election in order to avert the impending disaster. “We also call on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the INEC National Chairman, the National Body of NBA, NUJ, Civil Society groups, Heads of Security Agencies, and other respected citizens and institutions to prevent the bloodbath that could result from this.
Similarly, the Rights groups noted in a press release that INEC’s State Returning Officer, Resident Electoral Commissioner, and other actors in the commission “are under pressure to accept the inflated results from Obingwa LGA in Abia state.”
The statement was signed by Comrade Damian Ogudike, State Coordinator of the Abia Chapter of the Congress of Civil Society Groups; Comrade Nwogu Chukwudi, President of the Abia Stakeholders Forum; and Comrade Nanna Nwafor, Convener of the Abia civil society network on Equity & Justice.
According to Rights Groups, “incontrovertible evidence from the outcome of the polls has shown that the majority of the people of Abia State spoke in loud voices with their votes on whom they want to represent them in government beginning with the Presidential/National Assembly polls until last Saturday when they re-echoed their stance by ensuring they vote credible persons in House of Assembly and in various local government results for the governorship election.”
They demanded that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) “resist any form of pressure or inducement in accepting the obviously flawed results obtained from a particular Local Government Area.”
“INEC should save the commission and its agents from public odium and disgrace, which could set Abia State on fire,” the statement read.
It went on to say, “Tension is already escalating in various regions of the state due to unruly youths who are no longer willing to allow their mandate to be stolen by political actors or parties.”
Some forces’ desperation to seize power by any means necessary leaves much to be desired, while those who read the signs of the times do not need a prophet or seer to tell them that the times have changed.
Our unwavering position is that input legitimacy should not be tampered with at any point in the democratic process, as the process by which a public official attains public office is crucial to what that public official does once in office.
Subverting the will of the people in a brazen manner and using the provocative slogan “If not satisfied, go to court” will no longer be tolerated in Abia State. “The people deserve the kind of leader they consented to through the democratic process of voting, and they will no longer be denied their guaranteed democratic rights.
The alternative poses a grave threat to society, and we implore INEC and other desperate politicians to refrain from setting Abia state ablaze through their actions or inactions. Let the final result reflect the will of the voters who defied all odds to exercise their right to vote, the right-wing group urged.
(Vanguard)
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