APGA sweeps Anambra LG polls; PPA rejects result

Despite protests and complaints by many voters in Anambra State that election did not hold in their areas in Saturday’s local government election, the State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC) yesterday, declared results in 20 of the 21 local government areas.
According to official results, the ruling party in the state, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), swept all the chairmanship seats in the council polls.
Announcing the result yesterday, the ANSIEC Acting Chairman, Chief Sylvester Okonkwo said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won12 councillorship seats in various wards across the state, the United Peoples Party (UPP) clinched a seat, Progressives Peoples Alliance (PPA) also got one, while APGA took the remaining 304 wards.
Okonkwo however, said that election did not hold in Nnewi North Local Government Area but did not give reasons for the development, though he disclosed that the commission had concluded arrangement to conduct election in the area next Saturday.
He said that instead of vilifying his commission, the state ought to be commended for transparency in elections as it is one state in Nigeria that has several political parties in the state assembly.
He said: “We are happy that no blood was shed, it is true that our people know how to talk, but they still maintain the sacredness of life and so, no one raised a hand at the other. I only want to say that anyone who is aggrieved should not take laws into his hands, but should better go to court.”
But in a swift reaction, the the leader of PPA in the state and governorship candidate of the party in last governorship election, Mr. Godwin Ezeemo, yesterday, said his party was rejecting the result of the election because it was fraudulent.
He said that a typical example of the fraud was that no election held in Aguata Local Government Area and that although the electoral officers wrote an undertaking for them that no election held in their area, the ANSIEC declared result in that place.
Meanwhile, youths of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday, stormed ANSIEC headquarters with chants of solidarity for Dr Chris Ngige.
They described the election as a sham, stressing that APC could not have participated in such an election.