Abia senatorial election: PDP candidate rejects Orji Kalu’s victory

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senatorial candidate for the Abia North District election, M.A.O Ohuabunwa, has rejected the result of Saturday’s poll.

Mr Ohuabunwa told reporters in his Umuahia residence on Tuesday that INEC breached the Electoral Act by announcing the results after declaring the election inconclusive.

He said the commission had on Sunday rescheduled elections in about 100 polling units in Arochukwu, Ohafia and other local government areas of Abia.

According to him, the elections were rescheduled for Sunday and later shifted to Monday in the areas where they could not take place on Saturday.

“We mobilised our people and they trooped out to cast their votes only for us to hear that INEC announced a winner when it had yet to conclude the exercise.

“This is unacceptable to us and we demand that the election be cancelled and a fresh election conducted in the 100 polling units.

“I am rejecting the result totally and calling on INEC to conduct elections in the remaining polling units.

“There are over 100 polling units with at least 60,000 voters in those areas, which is my own area,” Mr Ohuabunwa said.

He said he had petitioned the commission to do the “needful” by conducting an election in the remaining polling units it declared inconclusive.

“I do not care if somebody wins but the process must be clean and conclusive,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Returning Officer for Abia North, Chinedu Nnamdi, on Monday declared Orji Kalu the winner of the election, having polled 30,805 votes.

Mr Nnamdi said Nnamdi Iroh of the Labour Party came second with 27,540, while Mr Ohuabunwa came third, having polled 15,175 votes.

Mr Ohuabunwa said the commission would have disenfranchised 60,000 voters in the area, who were prepared to exercise their franchise but for the lapses on the part of INEC.

He said when the INEC officials could not come with the materials around 3 p.m. because of a lack of vehicles, he gave money to hire 12 buses to assist in the distribution of materials from the local government headquarters to the polling units.

“After waiting for a long period of time for materials, many people became worried and agitated and some of them went back home. PremiumTimes