Political parties call for immediate release of Enugu results

Political parties in Enugu State under the auspices of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) have called on the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Mahmood Yakubu to direct the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Enugu State, Dr. Chukwuemeka J. Chukwu and the State Returning Officer, Prof. Maduebibisi O. Iwe, to as a matter of urgency announce the already collated results of governorship election from the 17 local government areas and declare winner of the election without further delay.

IPAC which made the call during a press conference in Enugu, stated that “any action short of this will be outside the law and could bring anarchy to an already fragile situation,” stressing that “INEC has no power under our laws to review collated results.”

    The parties maintained that the results of the 17 Local Government Areas (LGAs), including those of Nkanu East and Nsukka LGAs, were all collated by the State Returning Officer on March 19, 2023, stating that by the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, the only other duty remaining for the State Returning Officer, who is acting on INEC’s behalf is to add up the figures, announce them, and declare the winner in line with Section 65 and 66 of the Electoral Act 2022.

He said any action short of declaration would be outside the law and could bring anarchy to an already fragile situation.

“We note that the results of the 17 local government areas including those of Nkanu East and Nsukka LGAs, were all collated by the Returning Officer on March 19, 2023. By the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, the only other duty remaining for the State Returning Officer, who is acting on INEC’s behalf is to add up the figures, announce them, and declare the winner in line with Section 64 (8) of the Electoral Act 2022.

“We state that the cancellation of an already made return by a Returning Officer can only be made if the Returning Officer made the return under duress and such a complaint must come from the officer in question. These clearly do not apply to the Enugu situation.

“But the law in Section 130(1) of the Electoral Act is also mindful to make provisions for the adjudication of any complaint against a return made by the Returning Officer.

Section 130(1) provides: “No election and return at an election under this Act shall be questioned in any manner other than by a petition complaining of an undue election or undue return presented to the competent tribunal or court in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution or of this Act, and in which the person elected or returned is joined as a party.”