Ahead of the re-run election for the Enugu South Urban state constituency slated for June 8, 2024, Labour Party (LP) candidate Barr. Bright Ngene has called on the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure neutrality in the upcoming election.
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Addressing the press, Barr. Ngene expressed a lack of confidence in the Enugu State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr. Chukwuemeka Chukwu, and the Electoral Officer for Enugu South, Mr. Francis Chigbu, to conduct the rerun election for the third time.
Following the March 18, 2023, House of Assembly election, Labour Party secured 5,862 votes, while the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) obtained 2,098 votes. Consequently, INEC declared LP the winner, and Ngene was inducted into the 8th Assembly of Enugu State, receiving a certificate of return from INEC.
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However, the PDP candidate contested the victory in court, arguing that the election should be declared inconclusive due to violence in eight polling units located in Ward 5 Uwani (Uwani Secondary School and Robinson Primary School), which have 4,257 registered voters. The court ruled in favor of the PDP’s argument and ordered a rerun election in the affected polling units.
Ngene questioned why INEC would allow the same officials, who failed to conduct the first rerun election on February 3, 2024, to oversee the third attempt.
“The first rerun could not proceed because the original result sheet mysteriously went missing under the supervision of Dr. Chukwu and Mr. Chigbu, who have yet to account for its disappearance,” Ngene stated. “To date, no explanation has been provided by the duo or INEC regarding the missing original result sheet.”
Ngene strongly opposed the involvement of REC Enugu, Chukwuemeka Chukwu and E.O. Enugu South, Mr. Francis Chigbu in the forthcoming rerun election, citing concerns over their integrity and the likelihood of the original result sheet and other vital materials going missing under their custody.
He lamented the lack of representation for his constituency over the past nine months and called on the media, local and international organizations to closely monitor the area where the elections will be held to ensure that the will of the people is respected.
“It has been over nine months that the Enugu South Urban constituency seat has remained vacant and unrepresented in the Enugu State House of Assembly,” Ngene said. “I passionately urge the press, NGOs, civil society organizations, election monitors, the European Union, and other international organizations to be present during this third rerun election to ensure that the results announced by INEC reflect the true votes cast by the electorate in the eight polling units.”
