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PDP wins re-run legislative elections in Rivers State

By Kelvin Ebiri (Port Harcourt) and Kanayo Umeh (Abuja)
27 February 2017   |   3:01 am
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Mr. Jerome Eke, as the winner of the Etche/Omuma Federal Constituency.

INEC

INEC promises ‘conclusive’ polls in 2019
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Mr. Jerome Eke, as the winner of the Etche/Omuma Federal Constituency.

He polled a total of 15,221 votes to defeat his All Progressives Congress (APC) rival, Mr. Ogbona Nwoke, who scored 6,220 votes.

Similarly, another PDP candidate, Tony Ejiogu, was declared duly elected to represent Etche State Constituency 2 in the Rivers State House of Assembly, having polled a total of 4,102. A former lawmaker and APC candidate, Golden Chioma, scored 1,618 votes.

In another development, the INEC has said that it was working towards delivering conclusive general elections in 2019.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, gave the assurance in his address at the University of Abuja pre-convocation lecture at the weekend.

He said ensuring free, fair and conclusive elections in 2019 would help to increase confidence in the electoral system and limit accidental victories.

Yakubu, who was represented by the National Commissioner in charge of North-Central Zone, Prof. Antonia Okosi-Simbine, promised that INEC would continue to build its capacity to achieve electoral integrity.

The Rivers State PDP Chairman, Mr. Felix Obuah, has lauded the courage of members of the party and the good people of Etche and Omuma that ensured victory for the party.

But the state chapter of the APC has rejected the results declared on the grounds that the elections were inconclusive.

The APC chairman, Davis Ikanya, while rejecting the declared results, said that the re-run elections were earlier declared inconclusive by the INEC returning officers at Okehi.

According to him, INEC had subsequently announced that the conclusion of the process would take place yesterday (Sunday) or today (Monday).

“We were taken aback when it was reported that the National Electoral Commissioner in charge, Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu, had ordered that the incomplete results be declared despite the earlier declaration by the two returning officers on Saturday at Okehi that the elections were inconclusive.

“The APC vehemently rejects the results as declared on Sunday at the state INEC office in Port Harcourt. This action by INEC runs counter and contradictory to earlier announcement on Saturday by the aforementioned returning officers who are the duly empowered persons to make such declarations. What INEC did today (Sunday) is a rape on democracy and the APC will surely resist it with every legal window available to it,” he added.

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