The All Progressives Congress (APC) says it is optimistic of winning Saturday’s Ebonyi South Senatorial by-election.
Chief Stanley Okoro-Emegha, the state APC chairman, said this on Saturday when he spoke with journalists at Nguzu-Edda, headquarters of Afikpo South Local Government Area of the state, after monitoring the election.
He commended voters in the zone for turning out en masse to exercise their franchise, describing the election as credible, free and transparent.
“The election is free, fair, credible and transparent and I give kudos to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for doing a great job.
“INEC did well in all the areas that I monitored; in fact, reports from across the senatorial zone show that the election is transparent and witnessed a large turnout of voters.
“This is the first time INEC restricted government officials from coming close to their gates during any election, despite my putting on the election observer tag, I was still barred from entering the premises and this was an indication of how serious the commission was,” he said.
Okoro-Emegha described the allegation of vote- buying and intimidation of voters by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as unfounded.
“The allegation is an excuse of a failed person; they know that they were going to fail, INEC by error or commission comes out and declares them as a winner there will not be any snatching of boxes or irregularities, so, it is a complaint of a failed person.
” I have called all the quarters and reports that I got is that turnout was very impressive and many who queued to vote were begging INEC officials to extend the time since it was already getting late but I appealed to officials to allow them to vote,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the election followed the appointment of Sen. Dave Umahi as the Minister of Works by President Bola Tinubu.
The PDP candidate Mr Stanley Onu and that of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Ifeanyi Eleje had described the election as non credible, calling for it cancellation.
