PDP lost 300,000 votes to card readers’ malfunctioning in Ebonyi, Umahi claims

•Party sweeps National Assembly positions
•Atiku beats Buhari in Oyo, APC gets 11 legislative seats

Governor David Umahi yesterday said his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lost over 300,000 votes to the malfunctioning of the card readers during weekend’s elections in Ebonyi.

Briefing newsmen in Abakaliki, he lamented that the strict adherence to the facilities affected the party’s electoral fortunes in the state.

Commending the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chair, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, officials and security agencies for the polls, Umahi however called for the fixing of the smart cards before the gubernatorial elections.

The governor, who expressed joy that though he delivered over 260,000 votes to his presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, added that he remained one of the few governors that delivered all National Assembly seats to the party.

He thanked the people for coming out en masse, urging the losers to be sportsmanly.

His words: “Over 300,000 votes were discarded in Ebonyi because of the hiccups of the card readers. However, we have given over 260,000 votes to PDP. I am happy because I am one of the governors that delivered all the National Assembly seats to PDP. The party has done well.”

The governor also condoled with families of those that lost their loved ones to violence and related incidents.

The political group won all nine federal legislative seats for the state.

In a related development, Atiku clinched 18 of the 33 councils in Oyo State. He defeated Buhari, who won in 15.

The Returning Officer and Vice Chancellor of University of Ilorin, Prof. Sulyman Age Abdulkareem, said the PDP polled 366,690 votes to narrowly beat APC that got 365,229 ballots of the 957,000 accredited.

The ruling party won two of the three senatorial districts while PDP got the other.

Of the 14 federal constituencies, APC won nine while PDP secured three and the Action Democratic Party getting one

The election in Ibarapa North/Ibarapa Central was inconclusive.