There is growing unease in the state as a result of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s decision to halt the results collation of the Enugu governorship election held on March 18.
As the Peoples Democratic Party received over 30, 000 votes in the state’s Nkanu East Local Government District, controversy broke out.
Eugene Edeoga, an agent for the Labour Party, had reported that the local government collation officer had used manual accreditation and voting because he claimed that BIVAS machines had malfunctioned.
Chijioke Edeoga, a candidate for governor from the Labour Party, filed a petition after the incident, claiming that the LGA elections did not utilise the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System.
Following the suspension, supporters of the PDP and the Labour Party have both demonstrated their support for their respective candidates and even declared victory.
Solomon Odo, a businessman from Enugu, told journalists, “We are anxious. I’ve never been politically active, but the recent events have gradually put me in a bind. In anticipation of who will be our state’s next governor, I have lost all desire to eat. I believe that the right thing should be done, but it needs to be done sooner.
People are already depressed, according to Moneke Okeke, a government official at the state ministry of justice. It demonstrates how aware our people are of their leaders. They cast ballots and want them to be counted.
According to attorney Eucharia Ogbodo, “Justice hastened is justice crushed. I acknowledge that it has been a while, but if the right steps weren’t taken, a bad precedent would be formed, which wouldn’t be healthy for our democracy. It should be permitted for INEC to act morally.
Nwabueze Ugwu, a constitutional lawyer, said that the results should have been announced until the parties who had been wronged settled their disputes in court.
“The work of INEC is to aggregate results and declare, not to question such outcomes,” he claimed. The tribunal exists because that aspect belongs to the judiciary.