SaharaReporters has just obtained a report that armed soldiers in Nimo, Anambra State are ordering INEC officials to transport ballots from Nimo Ward 3 to the local government headquarters in Abagana for collation. The soldiers’ order is contrary to INEC guidelines which specify that collation should take place at ward collation center.
SaharaReporters has just obtained a report that armed soldiers in Nimo, Anambra State are ordering INEC officials to transport ballots from Nimo Ward 3 to the local government headquarters in Abagana for collation. The soldiers’ order is contrary to INEC guidelines which specify that collation should take place at ward collation center.
Today’s rerun of the Anambra Central senatorial race in some areas, including Nimo, pitched former Information Minister Dora Akunyili and former Anambra governor, Chris Ngige. Mrs. Akunyili belongs to the All People’s Grand Alliance (APGA) while Mr. Ngige ran on the ticket of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
The meddling by the soldiers had created a tense standoff between the heavily armed soldiers and police officers who had been drafted to provide security.
“A lot of people view this intervention by the military as a naked attempt to falsify the results for Governor Peter Obi’s candidate,” said one of our sources at the scene.
The source added that the police officers at the scene were demanding that INEC officials be allowed to do the collation as directed by the electoral commission, but the soldiers remained adamant. “There’s the fear that this situation could lead to a violent confrontation,” said the source.
The Anambra Central senatorial race has been marked by controversy. The original returning office, Alex Anene, had declared Mr. Ngige as the winner, stating that APGA operatives sponsored by Governor Peter Obi and Mrs. Akunyili had threatened his life for rejecting a bribe to announce Mrs. Akunyili as the winner of the National Assembly election held on April 9.
In the midst of the controversy, Chukwuemeka Onukaogu, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Anambra, appointed Charles Esinone as the new returning officer for the race, claiming that Mr. Anene had abandoned his post. Mr. Esinone, a professor of pharmacy, then declared the election inconclusive, setting the way for today’s partial rerun.
Mr. Esinone’s impartiality has been questioned. He was a student under Mrs. Akunyili at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. In addition, she employed him to work at a NAFDAC factory located in Agulu, Mrs. Akunyili’s hometown.
SaharaReporters had reported that Mrs. Akunyili and Mr. Obi had swept through Nimo, Umunnachi and other communities distributing bags of rice and cash to voters to buy their votes.
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