Chief Toby Okechukwu, Deputy Minority Leader, House of Representative, says the people have spoken and the people will stand in Enugu State as Dr Peter Mbah remains their choice.
Okechukwu told newsmen in Enugu on Sunday, while congratulating the new Governor-elect of Enugu State, Dr Peter Mbah, that his election by the people of the state was a right step at a time of severe national economic challenges.
He called on all the opposition to drop their desperate moves and stands but join hands with the people’s choice, Mbah, to move the state forward and work for the greater good and purpose of the state.
“I pity Nigerians who see some Labour Party politicians as progressives because they moved out from the dominant parties (either PDP or APC) to the LP to cruise on the Peter Obi bandwagon.
“They won seven out of the eight House of Representative seats in Enugu State, but PDP did not complain.
“They won the senatorial seat of the governor and even the governor’s polling booth during the Presidential and National Assembly Election, yet neither PDP nor Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi complained.
“They won the Enugu East senatorial district where Nkanu East LGA is located and celebrated it. But they would not accept the governorship result that came from the same process the same day,” he said.
Okechukwu, who represents Aninri/Awgu/oji River Federal Constituency in Enugu State, explained that Enugu people supported Peter Obi in the name of justice because “we believed it was South-East turn to produce the next President”.
According to him, on the claim of Mr Frank Nweke of APGA; it beats imagination how a man who managed 17,983 state-wide votes against Dr. Mbah’s 160,895 votes hoped to win the governorship election in the first place.
He said: “On behalf of the good people of Aninri/Awgu/Oji River Federal Constituency, I congratulate the governor-elect of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, and the people of Enugu State on this massive victory.
“It was a hard-won victory, but it is worth it, given the quality that Mbah is expected to bring to bear on the leadership of the state. He comes with a wealth of proven experience and track record in the private sector space where he plies his trade.
“With his ambitious vision and programmes, his commitment to transforming Enugu State’s economy from the present $4.4 billion to $30 billion economy in eight years.
“As well, taking the youth off the unemployment market and unleashing their potentials and creativity, I am supremely confident that Enugu people made the right choice”.
Okechukwu commended Mbah for his commitment in his acceptance speech to run an all-inclusive government, saying that the unity and brotherhood were imperative if the state must experience the much-needed development under the Peter Mbah administration.
He equally urged the people of the state to continue to support and pray for Dr. Peter Mbah as he embarks on the onerous mission of building a new Enugu State.
Meanwhile, a group, Labour Party Coalition for True Democracy, has called on the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Yakubu Mahmood, to withhold the Certificate of Return for the Enugu State gubernatorial election.
It also urged the INEC Boss to order a runoff and a rerun in polling units and LGAs where voting was marred by irregularities.
At a press conference on Sunday in Abuja, the group agonized over what it described as “electoral heist that took place in Enugu on the Election Day”.
It cited data discrepancies in areas such as Nkanu East local government area, where it alleged that the political party which was declared the winner of the gubernatorial poll emerged so with an unaccountable 30,350 votes, above the 7,190 accredited voters on the INEC IREV.
Reading from an earlier prepared script, the coalition stated “As you may know, collation was suspended midway into the declaration of a winner of the gubernatorial election due to the malpractice that took place in Nkanu East LGA of the State.
According to the figures gleaned from the “INEC IREV, Nkanu East LGA recorded a total number of 7,190 accredited voters on the election day.
“However, when votes were declared, the PDP was allocated a total number of 30,350 votes while a total number of 1,855 was allocated to the Labour Party. In the same vein, other political parties were allocated fringe numbers in like manner.
“We then ask: how could INEC have turned out a total of 33,975 votes in Nkanu East LGA that had only about 7,000 accredited voters?
“The ready answer is that the Electoral Act was literally thrown under the bus by writing results without recourse to the BVAS.
“Also, in Udenu LGA, the result of the state constituency election has not been declared because there was violence in 13 polling units with a cumulative number of 7,709 potential voters with PVCs collected.
In this case, INEC is rightly of the view that elections in those polling units will have to be conducted before a return can be made, ostensibly because the number of voters in those polling units will affect the final outcome of the result if the voters are allowed to vote”.
It further narrated the events in Igbo-Eze South LGA where it said that an outbreak of violence in about 3 polling units with a total number of 3,326 persons with PVCs collected, prevented INEC from declaring the state constituency election result.
According to it, other areas affected include “Nkanu West LGA, Nsukka LGA, Uzo-Uwani LGA, Igboeze North LGA, Igbo-Etiti LGA and a host of other LGAs where elections did not hold in several polling units.
“On the whole, there are a total of 21,156 persons with PVCs yet to cast their votes across the State. This number is far huge enough to affect the final outcome of the result as declared. S. 51 (2), (3) and (4) of the Electoral Act envisage that a rerun be conducted in such circumstances.
“Recall that in the final result as declared by the INEC, the candidate of the PDP purportedly polled a total number of 160,895 votes while the candidate of the Labour Party polled a total of 157,552 votes. In other words, the candidate of the PDP purportedly won by 3,343 votes.
“It is therefore curious how a return was hurriedly made on the gubernatorial election when the total number of polling units where elections were yet to hold far outnumber the margin with which the candidate of the PDP was returned.
“Recall that in Kebbi and Adamawa states where a similar scenario is in place, INEC did the right thing by declaring the election inconclusive. Why then is the case of Enugu different? Is it a case of two sets of laws for one kind of situation?
“Again, on the electoral heist that took place in Nkanu East LGA, I wish to draw the attention of ladies and gentlemen here that the Electoral Act in S. 51 (2) provides that where there is a proven case of over-voting in any polling unit, the verdict by the returning officer should be an outright cancellation while a fresh election is ordered.
“We appeal to Nigerians to help us understand where the INEC in Abuja drew the power that enabled them to reduce some votes in the over-voting situation as witnessed in Nkanu East LGA.
“It is therefore in the light of the foregoing that we wish to draw the attention of the nation to the outright robbery taking place in Enugu State.
“Our Party, the Labour Party, has written to INEC to review the Enugu situation in line with the Electoral Act which allows for a 7 days window for application to the INEC for a review of situations of this nature.
“It is our hope that Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu seizes the opportunity that the Enugu situation presents to clean up the already battered image of the Commission under his watch.
While hoping that INEC does the right thing by restoring the mandate of the Enugu people freely given to the Labour Party, and by extension, Hon. Chijioke Edeoga, on 18th March, 2023, we continue to urge our teeming supporters to continue to toe the path of peace while the institutions are being engaged”.
