Supporters
of the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Grand Alliance on
Sunday protested the outcome of the elections for Abia Central Senatorial
District.
The
protesters, who occupied different sections of the sidewalks in front of
Umuahia North Local Government secretariat – the collation centre for Abia
Central senatorial district – chanted solidarity songs in support of their
various candidates. There was no physical confrontation from both camps, except
for the fact that they hurled abuses at each other.
Official
results had not yet been released as of press time, but speculations are rife
that the PDP senatorial candidate and current governor of Abia State, T. A.
Orji, is having a rough ride. Some party agents who spoke to our correspondent
said he lost in his polling unit. There was however, no figure to back the
claims.
Suspicion
that all was not well first emerged early on Sunday morning when an APC party
agent, Godwin Uwanuakwa, raised an alarm that the figures on the result sheet
from Isingwu ward in Umuahia North Local Government Area of the state was
different from the figures he had on the result duplicate in his possession,
hence, he declined signing the result sheet.
Uwanuakwa,
who also alleged that the figures were altered in favour of the PDP said, “We
followed the results from the polling unit to the ward up to this point. When
we got here last night, we were not allowed in, only PDP agents were allowed
entry. That is why we were not able to observe the collation exercise here last
night.”
INEC
collation officers admitted the discrepancy and obvious alteration on the
result sheet which was not duly signed. They blamed the youth corps member that
presided over the exercise for the error. The APC and APGA agents, who
protested the discrepancy, were asked to write to the commission for redress.
Result
sheets from other wards were also contested, raising the fears that the ruling
party might be up to something. Meanwhile, a local government transition
chairman was seen patrolling the premises. An INEC official, while responding
to an inquiry from a party agent as to what the chairman was doing inside the
collation hall said, “Don’t you know he is a government official?”
The
avalanche of complaints bordering on discrepancies from various result sheets
forced the INEC officials to order all party agents out of the collation hall,
including journalists. Tear gas was used on those who resisted the order.
Policemen were also instructed to barricade the council gate allowing entry to
only selected persons.
In the
course of the protests, some party agents mainly from APGA, LP and APC resolved
not to sign the result sheet. An INEC staff, whom they had related the decision
to was heard telling them that their signatures are not required to
authenticate the results
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