By Tony Adibe
The Campaign Council of the Enugu State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has noted the statement by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) purportedly suspending the collation of the final results and declaration of a victor in the Enugu State governorship contest.
In Statement issued on Monday by the Director General of the PDP Campaign Council in Enugu, Barrister Nana Ogbodo, the Campaign Council expressed “deep disappointment” at the decision of INEC to suspend the collation and also to “mix up the situation in Abia State gubernatorial election with the case of Enugu State.
“Putting the Abia and Enugu situations in one basket clearly shows that the national headquarters of INEC is mixing things up or has not been properly briefed,” the Campaign Council stated.
Ogbodo explained that unlike the situation in Abia State, the results of the entire 17 LGAs of Enugu State, including those of Nkanu East and Nsukka LGAs have been fully collated by the Returning Officer, Prof Maduebibisi Ofo Iwe, adding that “What remains for the INEC is to sum up the returns by the Local Government Returning Officers and declare our candidate, Dr. Mbah the governor-elect.”
According to Ogbodo, “Section 64(8) of the Electoral Act 2022 provides that where collation has been completed as in the present case of Enugu State, the duty of the collation officer, who collated the result is to announce the result and make a declaration. Therefore, having collated the results from Nsukka LGA and Nkanu East LGA, the statutory duty and legal responsibility of the State Returning Officer is simply to announce and declare the results. INEC cannot, by law, suspend the declaration of result already collated.”
The statement read: “Issues relating to accreditation and votes cast in a polling unit and the fate of such votes where they exceed the number of accredited voters in such units are guided by Section 51(2) of the Act.
“The position of the law is that a Returning Officer has no power to cancel any results at the stage of collation. The only option open to any person dissatisfied with the process is to resort to Section 130(1) of the Electoral Act, which vests the power to receive and adjudicate petitions complaining of an undue election or undue return in an election in the tribunal or court.
“We believe that the Returning Officer for Nkanu East Local Government Area has duly complied with the provision of Sections 64(4)(a) & (b) and Section 64(a)&(d) of the Electoral Act 2022.
“We consequently restate our position that the only option left to INEC acting through the State Returning Officer for the Enugu State Governorship Election under Section 64(8) of the Electoral Act 2022 is to announce the results and make a declaration of the winner of the election.
“We therefore call on INEC to immediately announce the results it has already collated and declare Dr. Peter Ndubisi Mbah the winner of the March election.”
