Starting from the 4th of February 2023 when INEC invited political parties, candidates and stakeholders to observe and witness the use of the BVAS machines being used for mock accreditation, the PDP leadership in IKA FEDERAL CONSTITUENCY showed that it was approaching the election with a win at all cost strategy.
Those who came to observe the process at Ute-Okpu center, including the APC candidate, Hon. Engr. Doris Uboh, were not only intimidated by hired thugs of the PDP who were present in their hundreds, but physicaly harassed by same.
On the election day 25th of February, 2023, the first sign of PDP desperation was displayed as 2 vehicles belonging to APC members, that was escorting INEC election materials into the wards was attacked and vandalised. The occupants of the vehicles, Mr Joseph and the APC youth leader for Ika North East, Mr Orbit Eghianuta was beaten and chased out of the car. The Sienna car and a Hiace bus was eventually burnt to ashes. Both cars remain at the burnt sight in Ute-Okpu. As that was going on.
At the INEC office in Owa Oyibu in Ika North East Federal Constituency, 2 APC chieftains who were still at INEC office, unaware that the materials had left the INEC office, Mr Martin Elue and Arc. Peter Okubor were accosted by a PDP chieftain, Mr Hillary Ibegbulem and his thugs, beaten, kidnapped and taken to Asaba.
The main objective of PDP was to instill fear in the APC supporters and prevent them from coming out to vote. On election day irrespective of the presence of the military and police monitoring of the environment, INEC materials meant for ward 9, Ute -Okpu which had been taken by Hillary Ibegbulem earlier was still in his custody. While voting was ongoing anybody that was not a PDP member was not allowed to vote, It was obvious that the INEC was working for the success of the PDP.
In wards 3 and 4, in Ika North East, which is a strong hold on the APC, people were chased away hence election did not hold in both wards. At the conclusion of voting no result was announced at the unit level and no ward collation or uploading of result through the BVAS or any other means. All results including collation was taken away. No APC agents was allowed into the collation center as PDP agents used the security officials to prevent any none PDP member ino the venue. The PDP representatives took the INEC officials to a secret location where collation was conducted in the absence of any other political party.
It is important to note that while Labour Party is speculated to have won most of Delta State, INEC in announcing Victor Nwokolo as the winner of Ika Federal Constituency, did not give a breakdown of unit by unit result neither did they upload the result of Ika North East as at when the announcement was made on 26th of Feb. 2023. Most importantly, the result of the Ika North East was rejected in its entirety as it affects presidential election result, while same result for the National Assembly which was equally affected by violence and lack of voting in wards 2, 3, 4, and 9 was released and used to announce and return Hon. Victor Nwokolo.
How can this be? Results from those 4 wards can affect the entire result of the election hence we are asking for a total cancellation and rerun of Ika Federal Constituency.
In Ika South Local Government, results were not collated in most wards, polling unit results were not announced at the polling units and ward collation was not conducted. All INEC staff were ordered to return to INEC office in Agbor where all collations were done. As at the time of this report, the transmitted result from Ika North East stands at 14 units only while 224 unit results are still outstanding yet to be transmitted electronically.
As for Ika South, only 106 unit results were transmitted while 63 units result are yet to be transmitted electronically.
If this is truly a democracy, there is no reason why the IKA FEDRAL CONSTITUENCY ELECTION RESULT should not be cancelled and a rerun election slated immediately in accordance to the Electoral Law.
C. Ogbuobodo is the Zonal Legal Adviser, All Progressives Congress (APC) South-South Zone.