Anambra NASS polls: Umeh, Ekwunife back to the trenches

Uba, Nwoye, others free

By Vincent Ujumadu

FOLLOWING the nullification of the March 28, 2015 National Assembly election for Anambra Central senatorial district, the two major opponents in the poll, Chief Victor Umeh, former national chairman and candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA  and Mrs. Uche Ekwunife, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, are back to the trenches. They are peparing for another showdown. The rerun election is likely to take place in March, next year.

Soon after the declaration of Ekwunife as the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Umeh went to the tribunal to challenge it. After months of legal fireworks at the election tribunal sitting in Awka by the two parties, the tribunal headed by Justice Naya Aganaba, declared that the election substantially met the requirements of the electoral act and that Ekwunife was duly elected.

Not satisfied with the decision, Umeh appealed against the judgment and the Appeal Court judges nullified the election on the ground that it did not meet the required standards.

Shortly after the outcome of the judgment filtered into Awka, many people converged in groups to discuss the matter, while others went jubilating in the various local councils that make up the senatorial zone.

While some said that Umeh  ought to have been declared winner by the Court of Appeal,  others said the decision of the court to order for a rerun of the election within 90 days was fair to both parties in view of the alleged irregularities  that  characterised the polls.

Mixed views

However, there were those who expressed happiness that the rerun election would be conducted on a clean slate as there would no longer be ‘order from above’ to decide who should go to the Senate to represent Anambra Central as was the case on March 28.

I will win rerun polls — Umeh

Uche Ekwunife acknowledging cheers from supporters

Expressing happiness at the decision of the Appeal Court, Umeh boasted that he would win the rerun election.

His words: “I am happy that the Court of Appeal did not sustain the electoral fraud that took place in Anambra State on March 29 during the collation of the results from the seven local government areas. By coming with a decision that election should be repeated is an improvement over the previous impression created that the election was good and that Uche Ekwunife, won.

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