The Anambra Police Command, on Tuesday, said it has arrested 14 suspects for various electoral offences committed during the February 23 presidential and National Assembly elections in the state. The Commissioner of Police in charge of the 2019 general elections in Anambra, Mr. Rabiu Ladodo, disclosed this in Awka during a media briefing. Ladodo explained that the offences allegedly committed by the suspects included ballot box snatching, disruption of elections, malicious damage and thuggery. He said that Police recovered the following exhibits: two vehicles, two motorcycle and three ballot boxes snatched from Okpoko area. ‘‘Electoral materials such as ballot papers destroyed at Obosi and Ojoto Collation Centres, two knives and dry leaves suspected to be Cannabis Sativa (Indina hemp) were also recovered,” he said. The commissioner gave assurance that suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded. He advised all aggrieved parties who lost in the elections not to take laws into their own hands, but to explore legal means in tackling their problems. He said that the Command would continue to ensure peace and security, warning that any individual or group found to disrupt the relative peace in the state would be dealt with. Ladodo, who used the meeting to review the atmosphere during the elections, commended all Anambra people for the peaceful conduct during the exercise. ‘‘Despite some isolated cases recorded in some parts of the state where the command responded promptly and prevented breakdown of law and order, the election was generally peaceful without recording any loss of lives or injury. ‘‘This goes to confirm that Anambra State is not only a peaceful state in the whole Federation but also the most secured in terms of safety and security,” he said. (NAN)<doc-sep>Okechukwu Nnodim, Awka A mild drama played out on Sunday evening at the Awka South Local Government Area office of the Independent National Electoral Commission during the collation of senatorial election results for the Anambra Central Senatorial District. About two hours after the collation of results from the Dunokofia LGA, the Collation Officer from Awka North, Prof. Greg Obiamalu, came with results of the senatorial election conducted in his region and presented 32 political parties instead of 28 in the customised register at the collation centre. Immediately Obiamalu announced that he wanted to present the results of 32 parties, the Returning Officer at the centre, Prof. Can Nwankwo, told him that only 28 parties were in the customised register at the collation centre as provided by INEC from the headquarters. Nwankwo consequently directed his assistant to call out the names of the approved parties, while Obiamalu supplied the number of votes garnered by the identified parties. The names of the remaining four political parties that were not captured in the customised register were not mentioned and their votes were classified as rejected. Nwankwo later explained to our correspondent that “we work with this customised e-register from the headquarters and there’s no way we can add or increase the number of parties in this document to 32 when what has been coming from other LGAs has been 28 as specifically stated in this customised register.” Meanwhile, the results from the Awka North LGA in the senatorial election in the Anambra Central Senatorial District showed that that the All Progressives Congress polled 973 votes. The All Progressives Grand Alliance won 6,319 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party polled 11,177 votes and emerged as the winner in the LGA. For Dunukofia LGA, still in the same senatorial district, the APC got 1,544; APGA, 8267; and PDP, 10,375. The PDP also won in this LGA. The Anambra Central Senatorial District has seven LGAs. The results of other LGAs had yet to arrive as at the time of filing this report. Copyright PUNCH. All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH. Contact: [email protected]<doc-sep>The party, however, lost the three Senatorial Districts elections, including Anambra Central seat, currently occupied by Sen. Victor Umeh, a former National Chairman of the party. Umeh lost to his arch rival Sen. Uche Ekwunife of PDP, while Sen. Stella Oduah won Anambra North and Chief Ifeanyi Ubah emerged first senator-elect for Anambra South on the platform of the newly registered Young Progressives Party. In the results announced by INEC in Awka on Monday, Chinedo Obidigwe of APGA won the Anambra East and Anambra West Federal Constituency. Muoma Ifeanyi, the APGA candidate for Ihiala and the candidate for Orumba North and South, Okwudili Ezenwankwo as well as Oba Umeorji for Aguata Federal Constituency, won their elections. One the other hand, Peoples Democratic party (PDP) candidates won in six federal constituencies, including; Nnewi North and South (Chris Azubuogu), Anaocha/Njikoka/Dunukofia (Val Anyika), and Awka North and South (Sam Onwuaso). Others are: Ogbaru Federal Constituency (Chu Chu Onyema), Onitsha North and South (Linda Ikpeazu) and Oyi/Ayamelu Federal Constituency (Vincent Ofumelu). Idemili North and South Federal Constituency currently occupied by Rep. Obinna Chidoka (PDP) is the only area yet to be announced by INEC. A political analyst described the outcome of the elections in Anambra as a departure from the November 2017 governorship election which Gov. Willie Obiano won. ”APGA won in all the 21 Local Government Areas of Anambra during the November 2017 election.<doc-sep>
Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), won in all the 21 council areas, while President Muhammadu Buhari’s APC emerged second with 33, 298 votes. Prof. Francis Otunta, Vice Chancellor of the Michael Okpara University, Umudike, who served as INEC Collation Officer for the 2019 Presidential Election in Anambra released the results in the early hours of Tuesday in Awka. Otunta stated that Mr John Gbor, candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), scored 30, 034 votes to emerge third, with Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, the candidate of the Young Progressives Party polling only 4, 091 votes. He stated that Anambra had a total of 2.389, 332 million registered voters, out of which 675, 273 were accredited for the Feb. 23 Presidential and National Assembly Elections. Otunta stated that 605, 734 were the total number of votes cast at the poll, while 19, 301 votes were rejected. According to Otunta; “the Anambra presidential election results, as collated, will be handed over to the INEC National Chairman in Abuja who will add it to others across the 36 states and the FCT, before the final announcement of the winner’’. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that Dr Chris Ngige, APC presidential election agent in Anambra, staged a walkout before Otunta, flanked by INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Anambra, Dr Nkwachukwu Orji and others announced the result. Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Employment, protested the inclusion of results from some parts of Idemili North area in the Anambra presidential election results. He insisted that there were reported cases of violence and disruption of the process which adversely affected the outcome of the exercise. APC state chairman, Chief Basil Ejidike, added that apart from Idemili North, four other council areas recorded problems which affected the exercise. Dr. Obi Ogbolu, the state agent of the PDP in the Presidential election, said the party accepted the results tendered by the Police since the original copy was damaged by hoodlums. NAN reports that Mr Rabiu Ladodo, the Commissioner of Police in Anambra, had earlier tendered duplicate copies of the Idemili North results given to the police by INEC. Ladodo said the tendering of the duplicate copy of the results followed a request by INEC that its original copy was damaged by hoodlums during violence after the collation.