PDP Candidates Clear Enugu Council Polls * It was a sham, say Okechukwu, Nwoye

The Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC) has declared candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winners of the November 4 local government council elections in the state.

Chairman of the commission, Chief Mike Ajogwu (SAN), who announced the results at the commission's headquarters in the state, said the ruling party cleared the 14 chairmanship seats so far declared.

 Ajogwu said results from three local government areas, including Awgu, Ezeagu and Udi, the home council of the former state Governor, Sullivan Chime, were still being awaited. The party also cleared all the councillorship seats.

But the opposition party, All Progressives Congress (APC), through the Director General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu, had dismissed the election as a sham, insisting that the officials of ENSIEC were card-carrying members of the PDP handpicked to do the bidding of the ruling party.

The APC state Chairman, Ben Nwoye, also expressed dismay over the conduct of the election in the state.

Okechukwu and Nwoye were reacting to the outcome of the elections which they alleged were marred by late arrival of electoral materials among other irregularities. 

In his reaction, Okechukwu, a chieftain of APC, said: “The shambolic nature of local government council elections nationwide exhibited on November 4 in Enugu State, remains a paradox to the quest for devolution of powers from the federal to state tier of government.”

He expressed worry that since the country’s return to the fourth Republic, most state governments had debased democracy by conducting shambolic local government council elections.

The VON DG alleged that the same shambolic election took place in Enugu last Saturday. 

Asked about the danger posed by such elections which pervaded all the states governments and all political parties, Okechukwu retorted: "It makes popular participation at the local government level impossible, hence debasing democracy. To compound matters, all state governments run a rubberstamp state House of Assemblies. Therefore no oversight functions at the state level.

“Consequently, the devolution of powers from the federal to the second tier of government seems a paradox; paradox in the sense that democracy cannot grow or survive without free and fair elections at the local government level. 

"Imagine what could have happened to the opposition if there is state police, we could have been chased out of the polling precincts. To be honest, we patriots have to review our support for the devolution of powers."

Reminded that APC governors also conduct “shambolic” local government council elections, Okechukwu said his concern was about the growth and survival of democracy in the country.