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From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
Controversy has trailed the Enugu North Senatorial District by-election held yesterday as a coalition of political parties and candidates raised concerns over alleged electoral fraud, impersonation of party agents and violent incidents recorded in parts of the senatorial zone.
Chairman of the Coalition of Registered Political Parties in Enugu State, Dr Afam Ani, who monitored the election alongside other coalition members, said the exercise had generally been peaceful but was affected by a number of disturbing incidents in some polling units.
Speaking with journalists during the monitoring exercise, Ani said although voting had progressed smoothly in many areas, the coalition observed irregularities capable of undermining the credibility of the election.
“We are here to monitor the by-elections going on in Enugu today and so far so good. From what we have seen, the election has been going on well, apart from one or two incidents here and there… but the election has been going on well. So there is no problem so far,” he said.
Asked to clarify the incidents observed, Ani pointed to disputes involving party agents and what he described as fraudulent use of party identification tags by unknown individuals.
“In some of the places we’ve gone, we see most of our party tags being worn by people we don’t know. When you ask them, they will say PDP gave it to them. The third party forged it and it is fraudulent. If you want to win an election, you campaign, talk to people to vote for you and not use fraudulent means to win an election. I think it does not work,” he said.
He further linked the late movement of election materials to disagreements at a collation centre, saying some individuals insisted materials would not leave until all buses were fully loaded.
“It’s because of those problems I told you that were caused in the collation centre before the materials started moving out. Some said nothing will move out unless all the buses are completed. How can all the buses be completed before they start moving? I think if you load, this one goes maybe to the farthest place, so others will also follow,” Ani explained.
The coalition chairman also alleged that one individual was caught using a fake party agent card at Ibagwa polling unit, claiming the suspect admitted under questioning that the card had been given to him by members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“We saw the young man wearing a party fake agency card and when we confronted him, because even the party chairman was there, we discovered that this is not the INEC agency card because the INEC agency card has a QR code that you can use to scan and even get the details of the agent.
“This one was forged and the young man confirmed under camera that this tag was given to him by the PDP to watch out for their interest. This is not good. Every party should condemn this.”
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Meanwhile, the senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nestor Ezeme, accused the state government and some political actors of widespread interference, intimidation and violence aimed at frustrating the electoral process.
Ezeme, who said early reports suggested strong support for his candidacy across the district, alleged that top government officials moved from polling unit to polling unit attempting to manipulate the process.
“I think from the reports I get all over the senatorial district, the people are voting for me massively. It looks like it will be a landslide. Unfortunately, in the field you must have seen where the state government and their agencies are kind of scuttling the will of the people.
“Virtually all the local governments, here and there, you see chairmen of local governments, commissioners of the state, even commissioners not from Nsukka Zone moving from one polling unit to another trying to manipulate the system,” he alleged.
The PDP candidate further alleged that a violent incident occurred in Ofu Ogwu, where he claimed a commissioner opened fire during an altercation, leaving his party chairman seriously injured.
“It was chilling. A commissioner of the state was shooting a gun. And then he broke the head of my party chairman. The man is so critical in the hospital that I fear for his life.
“Are you afraid of fair competition? If you think you’re popular, put the cards on the table. Let us see it. You want to kill everybody because you want to manipulate the system. It is unfortunate for democracy.”
He claimed attacks and intimidation had been recorded in several polling units, but insisted voters continued to resist pressure.
“When they beat them, they will come back. They will throw people out of booths. But the people have really spoken and let’s see what happens by the end of the day,” he stated.
Speaking further on the attack, Ezeme alleged that the incident happened at Ofu Ogwu polling unit in Obollo Afor ward, where his party chairman was allegedly assaulted and rushed to hospital in critical condition.
“The commissioner was shooting guns, scaring people, his own village, his own people. In the process, my party chairman is so critical at the hospital that I pray for his life. They even burnt down his motorcycle there. What was his offence? He is simply the chairman of PDP,” he alleged.
As of the time of filing this report, election officials were yet to respond officially to the allegations, while voting continued in several polling units across the senatorial district under security presence.
