From Paul Osuyi, Asaba
The All Progressive Congress (APC) and Labour Party (LP) in Delta State have rejected the results of the governorship election held on Saturday, claiming that it does not reflect the wishes of the voters.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Returning Officer, Prof Abraham Georgewill Owunari, declared the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Sheriff Oborevwori, as the winner of the election with 360,234 votes. His closest rival and APC candidate, Ovie Omo-Agege, polled 240,229 votes, while Kennedy Pela of LP scored 48,047 votes to come a distant third.
LP Chairman in the state Tony Ezeagwu alleged that the process was fraught with irregularities and was not a true reflection of the wishes of the people. Ezeagwu said that Deltans have been subjected to untold suffering in the past 24 years and truly wanted a change.
On his part, Efe Duku, the APC agent at the collation centre, accused the Returning Officer of doing a hatchet job for the PDP in connivance with some officials of INEC. Duku declared that his party won the election beyond doubt, “and we are going to prove it.” He said that the APC remained a law-abiding party and would take every necessary step to reclaim the mandate.
Meanwhile, the governorship candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Dr Goodnews Agbi, has congratulated the governor-elect. However, he claimed that his supporters were disenfranchised, and his party was rigged out of the election.
Agbi said that he had accepted the decision of the people who spoke loudly through the ballot, but his party and campaign council would review the outcome of the election with a view to seeking legal redress for INEC’s ineptitude.
Agbi congratulated Sheriff Oborevwori and hoped that he would be accountable and judicious with the state’s resources.