Abia LP Senatorial Candidate Queries Abaribe’s Victory, Calls For Election Rerun

Labour Party (LP) Candidate for Abia South Senatorial District in the just-concluded February 25 National Assembly elections, Chinedu Onyeizu, is asking the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct rerun elections in over 100 polling units in the district where he claimed voting didn’t occur.

Onyeizu also alleged that the returning officer for the election, Prof Georgina Ugwuanyi declared the incumbent Senator for the district, Enyinnaya Abaribe the winner of the poll after receiving instructions from Abuja.

The LP candidate said this was already after the returning officer declared the election inconclusive.

Abaribe of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) was declared winner in Aba having polled a total of 49,693 votes to defeat his closest rivals – Onyeizu, who got 43,903 votes while Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) polled 28,422 votes.

However, the LP candidate described the election in Abia South as the “worst form of travesty” by the electoral umpire.

The LP candidate said the returning officer disenfranchised the votes of the over 40,000 registered voters who are supposed to vote in over 108 polling units in his strongholds.

Onyeizu said polling unit results were being collated already and these will be tendered before the tribunal.