Anambra gov poll: The ecstacy, outrage

EXPECTEDLY, the Anambra State governorship election, which began last Saturday, was and is still full of surprises and suspense as anxiety is visibly written on the faces of many people in the state, especially the political office seekers and their supporters. Indeed, the political tempo in the state was further heightened, on Monday, when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC declared the governorship poll as inconclusive. To the leading political party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), it was a victory delayed, while to the opposition parties, such as the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP), the outcome of the election was not acceptable and should therefore be cancelled in its entirety. But for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the poll remains the best option for the people of the state and Nigerians as a whole. Announcing the position of INEC on the election in the early hours of Monday, the Chief Returning Officer and Vice-Chancellor, University of Calabar, Professor James Epoka, explained that the took the decision because the margin between the leading candidate in the polls, Wille Obiano, of APGA and runners-up, Tony Nwoye of PDP was not up to the expected votes in the troubled areas where the election did not hold as stipulated by the electoral act. Besides, INEC stated that because there were many polling units where the election did not take place, it could not return the leading candidate and declare him winner as stipulated by the electoral law. To this end, Professor Epoka said the electoral body would arrange for a yet-to-be-fixed date for a supplementary election in the troubled areas. Nigerian Tribune gathered that the results released so far by INEC indicated that the APGA candidate, Obiano, polled a total of 174, 710, followed by the PDP candidate, Nwoye who garnered 94,956 votes. Dr Chris Ngige of APC, won the third position with 92,300, while the Labour Party standard bearer, Ifeanyi Ubah, recorded 37, 446 votes. INEC listed some of the troubled areas to include Anambra East, Ekwusigo, Orumba, Aguata, Idemili North and South, Oyi, among others