Less than twenty-four hours after declaring the winner for the Anambra South senatorial district election, the Returning Officer for the senatorial district, Prof Meshach Umenweke, has written to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to denounce the result.

Uwenweke, in his letter recanted his earlier declaration of the candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Ifeanyi Ubah, as the winner of the poll and claimed the election was inconclusive.

 

 

He also revealed that he was forced to declare businessman, Ubah, the winner to save his life.

Umenweke is of the Department of Public and Private Law, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Anambra State.

The  letter dated February 25 and addressed to the Anambra Resident Electoral Commissioner   seen  by our correspondent read in part, “That there were skirmishes within the compound of the Nnewi North Local Government  Area (headquarters) where the results were being collated between the police and some thugs who sought to gain entrance to the area of collation. The situation was volatile, intense and charged.

 

 

“The police had to spray tear gas to disperse the thugs and supporters,  most of who waited nearby. There was inadequate  security in the collation arena. There was the imminent danger to my person given the situation at hand to delve into the merits of the petition at the material time.”

The don added that, “Sequel to the above, I hereby declare the result of the elections into Anambra South Senatorial seat which I pronounced yesterday (Monday) inconclusive.”

 

On Monday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Dr Ifeanyi Ubah of the Young Progressives Party winner (YPP) as the winner of the Anambra South senatorial election held on Saturday.

Ifeanyi Uba is the Chairman/CEO of Capital Oil.

The oil magnate defeated the incumbent Senator of the district, Andy Uba of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and his brother, Chris Uba, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to emerge victorious in the just concluded Saturday Presidential and National Assembly election.

He also defeated the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Nicholas Ukachukwu.

Ukachukwu had defeated Bianca Ojukwu, the widow of late Igbo leader, Chief Chukwuemeka Odimumegwu Ojukwu in the APGA’s primary to become the candidate of the party.

The declaration of Ifeanyi Ubah as the Senator-elect of the district has ended what the people of the area describe as “Uba brothers’ senatorial dynasty”.

The Uba family had held sway to the senatorial seat of the area since 1999. The eldest of them all, Dr Ugochukwu Uba was the first to occupy the seat; followed by Andy Uba.

“If not for the oil magnate, Chris Uba who came second in the last Saturday’s poll would have been the third person in the family to have occupied the senatorial seat of the area,”  Collins Eze stated.

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