Supporters of the Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in Enugu State, Hon. Chijoke Edeoga and those of the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Peter Mbah have besieged the premises of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) Enugu, insisting that their candidates won the election.
They vowed not to leave the premises until their candidates are declared the winner of the contest.
The supporters who have been keeping vigil for two days on the major roads leading to the INEC office since security agents barricaded the road, mounted canopies and had stayed put until they reclaim their supposed mandate.
The supporters also pulled resources together and have been eating and drinking since the vigil began.
Speaking to LEADERSHIP on the incident, the Enugu State chairman of LP, Barr. Casmir Agbo, said they were there because they didn’t want the PDP to manipulate the outcome of the election.
Due to incongruity in the results from two local governments, Nkanu East and Nsukka, INEC had suspended the collation of the governorship election until the matter was resolved.
“We are here because of the governorship election that the PDP are trying to manipulate. We won convincingly in all the 17 local government areas. We won by more than 11,000 votes. We have seen the results. The only problem is the Nkanu East,” Agbo said.
Agbo also said that the Labour Party won in Nsukka but that PDP raised the issue of Nsukka because they kicked over the votes in Nkanu East.
“They have forgotten that during the presidential election Nsukka gave Obi more than 60,000 votes. They raised the Nsukka issue because we raised the issue of Nkanu East,” the party chairman pointed out.
Also, a PDP chieftain and former House of Representative member, USA Igwesi , who is a supporter of Mbah said, “We also are aware of the provisions of Section 103, Sub Section 1 of the same Electoral Act that said that if you are aggrieved, if you have petitions, you should go to the Election Petitions Tribunal. INEC does not usurp the power of the Election Petition Tribunal.
“INEC can only receive results; they don’t have power to look at the results; they should not look at petitions; I was a member of 5th National Assembly that helped in authoring this particular Electoral Act.
‘I am saying that what transpired during the Collation of Presidential Election result on 25th February, should equally be applicable to Enugu State.
“We are begging them to come and declare Peter Mbah the winner of the election and as long as they keep holding this result, we will keep occupying Enugu,” he said
