Ohuabunwa rejects Kalu’s victory in Abia North poll
Sen. Orji Kalu. Photo/FACEBOOK/SENATORORJIKALU
Former Senator for Abia North and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the just concluded National Assembly poll, Mao Ohuabunwa, has rejected declaration of his successor in the Senate and All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Orji Uzor Kalu, as winner of the poll.
Kalu was declared by the Returning Officer for Abia North poll, Chinedu Nnamdi, to have polled 30, 805 to defeat Ohuabunwa, who polled 15, 175 votes and Nnamdi Iroh of the Labour Party with 27,540 votes.
Ohuabunwa announced his rejection of the result, yesterday, while giving a press briefing at Umuahia, Abia State capital, on the basis that the results and declaration were announced many hours before voting commenced in many polling units across Abia North, which had over 100, 000 votes and voters.
He said that though INEC announced before the election that voting would commence from 8:00 a.m., voting materials and presiding personnel did not arrive most polling units, including his Arochukwu Council before 3:00 p.m.
According to him, following delay in arrival of materials and personnel, he had to procure 12 vehicles that conveyed them to Abia North, arriving about 2:00 p.m., and voting commenced about 3:00 p.m.
He also cited the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) as a factor in the poll, saying that while some malfunctioned, they were not used in most polling units. He added that INEC, having noted these scenarios on Sunday, rescheduled the poll for Monday in seven councils of the state, including Ohafia and Arochukwu. He expressed surprise and disappointment that INEC did not conduct the said rescheduled poll.
