Voting in the Anambra State gubernatorial election drew to an end yesterday evening amid allegations of sloppiness on the part of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in the delivery and presentation of critical voting materials in many areas.
The height of the chaos that characterized an otherwise peaceful election was the failure of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Comrade Tony Nwoye, to vote, because he, like several others, could not find his name in the voters register.
Senator Chris Ngige, the All Progressive Congress, APC, candidate, half way into the time earmarked for voting, alleged that his strongholds in Anambra Central were deliberately deprived of voting materials, a development that was also shadowed by the strike action embarked upon by INEC ad-hoc staff in the area.
In several areas, voters seeking to stop manipulation of their votes took the law into their hands as they barred INEC staff who refused to display clean copies of unmarked result sheets from commencing accreditation or voting.
The voting exercise was nevertheless peaceful throughout the state as heavily armed security men made a strong show of enforcing the restriction of movements ordered by the police throughout the state.
The 349 collation and returning officers for the election were brought from Cross River State.
The team is headed by Prof James Ekpke, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, who is the returning officer.
15 Resident Electoral Commissioners were to come and join six national commissioners to supervise each of the local government areas, but only a few came.
As voting progressed in many areas, the APC, in a statement, said it would not accept the results unless voting was conducted in parts of the state where voting was yet to be done by mid-afternoon.
At press time, the authorities had rectified some of the errors as voting was ongoing in some areas in Anambra Central where voting materials arrived belatedly.
There was a huge turn-out of voters even though a significant number of those who came out could not vote on account of slips in the voters register.
By yesterday evening, as results from across the state started trickling in, the ruling All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, candidate, Chief Willie Obiano and the APC candidate, Ngige, were running neck and neck in many areas declared, with the PDP candidate, Nwoye, tagging along the two frontrunners.
As preliminary results emerged, especially in Njikoka and parts of the state capital, Awka, supporters of the APGA candidate went into celebration, singing songs of victory and thronging drinking joints to celebrate.
Besides Nwoye, his father, Chief Okafor Nwoye, and mother could not find their names in the voters register in their Nsugbe Ward 1 in Anambra East local government area when they came to vote and were therefore excluded from voting.
Several other people in the ward, who had their voter cards, could also not find their names in the register and were therefore denied voting too.
The PDP candidate had come into the polling unit located in his village square and left shortly after he was told that there were problems in many wards in his stronghold. By 2.30 pm when he returned, all the people accredited in the ward had voted and he went straight to check his name in the register only to discover that his name was not there.
His parents, who were at the polling center all day, could not vote along with hundreds of other people who had cards but could not find their names in the register.
Nwoye told reporters that it was a ploy by INEC to rig him out, adding that in his polling station where 400 voters were supposed to vote, only 89 people found their names in the register.
He said that he made several efforts to reach the INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, to complain about the development, but the chairman did not pick his call.
Ngige voted at 1.30 pm at his Alor Ward 1 polling unit in Idemili South local government area, following which he complained of irregularities in the exercise, especially in his strong holds in Anambra Central senatorial zone.
According to him, many places in Awka South, Awka North, Dunukofia and Idemili North did not receive materials for the voting.
There were also reports that materials did not arrive early at Nkpor in Idemili North LGA and there was so much anxiety there.
In many places visited, only APC, PDP and APGA had agents, especially around the Anambra Central and North senatorial zones.
At Igboukwu in Aguata, INEC’s attempt to stop those who came late after accreditation to vote almost caused commotion, forcing officials of the electoral body commission to reverse themselves.
Many places in Nkpor and Obosi in Idemili North complained that materials were not brought by INEC and it was gathered last night that officials of the commission assigned duties in the affected areas were arrested by security operatives.
The troubles for the APC were worsened by the confinement of its Deputy National Secretary, Malam Nasir el Rufai, who was barred from leaving his hotel room early in the morning yesterday.
el Rufai had arrived Awka on Friday and checked into Finotel Hotel in the outskirts of the town.
“The restriction of the movement of el Rufai was part of the rigging plan by INEC,” the APC candidate said.
“el Rufai is a communication specialist and he is supposed to be manning my monitoring room. So I am surprised to hear that he has been restricted.
“I went to see him in his hotel room and saw many security operatives. They removed the key to his room and were following him about.
“Even when he went to eat, they still followed him and claimed that they were protecting him even when he did not solicit their protection. ”
Continuing, he said: “From the reports reaching me directly, we discovered that there is a deliberate attempt to disenfranchise Awka South, Idenmili North, Idemili South, Dunukofia among others. Idemili North alone has 180,000 voters and it was a place that I scored the highest votes.
“Idemili South is also my base. Part of Anaocha including Adazi Enu is also my stronghold. In all these places, there was shortage of electoral materials.
“As I speak to you some of the voting centres have not got voting materials, while majority of them do not have result sheets. Some got their accreditation materials at 1:00 pm.
“With this we can say that there is a deliberate attempt to suppress the wishes of Anambra Central people. Why is it that it is in my strongholds that the NYSC ad-hoc staff would go on strike?”
The turnout at other polling units in Idemili was very impressive and voters queued and were casting their votes up to 5pm.
APGA candidate, Obiano, voted around 1pm at his Aguleri polling station and voting was still going on when Sunday Vanguard visited area.
