20th April, 2011
The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)to issue the party’s candidate for the Anambra Central Senatorial District, Dr. Chris Ngige, with a Certificate of Return, following his victory in the April 9th National Assembly election.
In a statement issued in Ilorin on Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said such action by INEC would enable Dr. Ngige to move on to the next stage, which is to represent the people of Anambra Central Senatorial District, who overwhelmingly gave him their mandate.
”After the party’s leadership received briefing from our Senatorial candidate in the election and from our legal team,it is clear to us from the results, as announced by the Senatorial District Collation/Returning Officer (SDC/RO) for the Anambra Central Senate Election, Mr. Alex Anene, that our candidate, His Excellency, Dr Chris Nwabueze Ngige (OON), has been duly returned as the winner of the election, having scored the majority of the lawful votes cast.
“The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Anambra State, Prof C. Onukaogu, was in breach of the Electoral Act 2011 and the INEC Manual on 2011 election when he decided to unilaterally remove the SDC/RO, because the latter refused to do his bidding on collation and announcement of result – a function clearly and solely under the exclusive authority of an SDC/RO for the purposes of a Senatorial election.
”We hereby call on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to sanction this REC appropriately so that a lesson and a clear message can be sent to other RECs who may be tempted to go through this ignoble route,” ACN said.
The party said it welcomes the INEC Chairman’s decision to set up a fact finding panel, which is now engaged in finding out the administrative lapses that gave rise to the initial crisis before the declaration by the SDC/RO.
”We believe that the panel is not one to determine who won or did not win, as that aspect is now for the election courts. In the event that any person feels aggrieved by the outcome of the election and the winner declared, the position of the law in Section 68 of the Electoral Act is clear on the matter. It is our belief that the Panel’s finding will aid the Commission in future elections,” ACN said.