The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) has declared the Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), and incumbent governor of Delta state, Ifeanyi Okowa as winner of the Saturday’s March, 9, 2019 governorship election, with a total votes of 925,274 to defeat his rival of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Great Ogboru who polled 215,938 votes to clinch second position.
Announcing the final results Monday at the INEC headquarters in Asaba, the state returning officer Prof. Jaja who is the Vice Chancellor, (VC), Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa state said the state has a total of 2,831,205 registered voters out of which 1,188,784 were accredited.
According to him, a total of 1,178,335 votes were cast during the election, out of which 1,154,188 votes were valid while 24,147 were rejected.
Out of the 25 local government areas, PDP won 23 local government areas while the APC won 2 council areas.
Meanwhile, the Delta state chapter of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) has rejected outrightly the results of the governorship elections as declared by INEC, calling for the immediate cancelation of the election, even as it accused the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) of ballot snatching, over voting, buying of votes and impunity during the last Saturday election.
The Delta State APC Campaign Council and the governorship candidate of the party, Great Ogboru had also condemned the conduct of the State governorship and state Assembly elections held on Saturday March 9, 2019 across the state.
In a statement signed by the state party’s chairman, Jones Erue, obtained by our correspondent alleged that the election was marred by violence as three persons murdered in cold blood, saying it was the worst election ever conducted in Delta where PDP thugs armed with weapons, snatched and burnt ballot papers and result sheets in APC strong-holds.
Erue alleged further that from Delta North to South and Central, PDP thugs “exhibited a rapacious thirst for blood and an eerie appetite for violence as they left many innocent voters in pool of blood,” accusing security agents of aiding PDP thugs to cart away ballot boxes at the units, wards and collation centers.
“The object of their gory adventure was to tilt the election results in favour of the PDP. This unpatriotic and satanic objective was indeed achieved but not without exposing their unabashed criminality to grab power so they can subject Deltans to another four years of exploitation and crude pillage of our collective patrimony.
“Indeed the disparity between the INEC card readers and records of accreditation and the votes being declared at the Collation Centers across the state exposed their crass breach of the electoral process and villainous infringement of the law, since the INEC Chairman, Prof. Yakubu had stated that where there are more voters than the number recorded by the card readers, the results in that area shall be annulled.
“Delta APC condemns and rejects in totality the result of the governorship election held in Delta state on Saturday, March 9, 2019 and call on the INEC Chairman to instantly annul the result and to re-conduct same in the nearest date possible in line with extant laws and with all necessary logistics put in place to ensure a free and fair election.
“INEC has already demonstrated its preparedness to apply drastic measures where there is a clear breach of the electoral process through its suspension of the Rivers state election and we urge the electoral umpire to apply same rule in the case of Delta to further underscore its consistency, commitment and determination to conduct a free and fair elections in all states in Nigeria.” Elue said.
