A primary election for a 5-man delegate/councillorship held ahead of the Local Government Area election in Ebonyi State, scheduled for July 20, 2024, turned violent on Friday.
According to report, the election descended into chaos and violence in parts of the state.
The unrest reportedly stemmed from disagreements between members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the officials overseeing the election. Vanguard reported that some youths sustained injuries, including machete cuts, inflicted by hoodlums who infiltrated the election venue.
Contrasting reports emerged from Ekka ward in Ezza North Local Government Area, where some anonymous youths claimed no election took place. However, Barr Ikeuwa Omebe, the Commissioner for Rural Development and a stakeholder from Ekka ward, refuted these claims, insisting the delegate election was peaceful, free, fair, and credible.
Omebe stated, “I am surprised by what you are saying. The election in my ward was peaceful. People queued behind the aspirant of their choice, and the election proceeded smoothly. In my presence, nothing untoward happened. You know how youths can be; they act independently.
“Maybe the incident you mentioned occurred after the election concluded. During my presence, the election was conducted peacefully. There were no disagreements between myself and the Coordinator of my DC. When I arrived at the election venue and after we left, everything was peaceful.”
In contrast, Agbo Sunday, a councillorship aspirant from Okposhi Ward I in Ngbo Central of Ohaukwu Local Government Area, reported that the election did not hold in his ward due to alleged conspiracies against it. He criticized the role of the EBSEIC staff, stating, “We were about four aspirants, but only the result of one contestant was counted. I call on Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, the State Chairman of APC, and the EBSEIC boss to cancel this election because what happened on the field was not an election.”
Another aspirant, Igwe Frank Arinze, also from Okposhi Ward I, accused the Returning Officer, Friday Onwe, of bias. Arinze claimed, “When the Returning Officer saw that those standing behind me outnumbered those behind Mr. Henry Okpe, he refused to count my votes. He said he was instructed to count only Henry Okpe’s supporters. After counting Henry Okpe’s votes, the officials rushed to their car and drove off, leaving prearranged thugs to attack my supporters. We barely escaped, and my car was damaged.”
Arinze appealed to Governor Nwifuru, the APC State Chairman, and the EBSEIC boss to investigate the matter and declare him the rightful winner, arguing, “It was clear that those standing behind me were about three times more than those behind Henry Okpe. I have all the evidence. How can EBSIEC declare someone who didn’t win as the winner? If this continues, how can people trust the election process and participate in the future?”
