By Emma Okereh
The result of last Saturday’s local government election in Bonny Local Government Area, as announced by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), has been rejected by the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and it’s candidate, Amb Fubara.
RSIEC Chairman, Justice Adolphus Enebeli, declared Dame Anengi Barasua of the Action People’s Party (APP) as the winner of the election in the local government.
However, the NNPP has rejected this declaration, claiming that their candidate, Ambassador Fubara Dagogo, won the election by a wide margin and that they have sufficient evidence to prove it.
Speaking in Bonny after the RSIEC declaration in Port Harcourt, the NNPP Chief Collation Officer for Bonny Local Government Area, Michael Ekeocha, explained that only results from eight out of the twelve wards in the local government area had been collated before the RSIEC made its declaration. He expressed his surprise at where the RSIEC Chairman obtained the results used to declare the APP candidate as the winner.
Ekeocha maintained that the NNPP candidate, Fubara Dagogo, was overwhelmingly leading other candidates in the eight wards where results were collated.
He said, “My name is Michael Ekeocha, and I am the NNPP Collation Officer for Bonny Local Government Area. I thank all the voters and stakeholders for coming out en masse to cast their votes. I also thank the Executive Governor for ensuring that the election went as planned, despite efforts to frustrate it.
“So far, our ward polling agents have submitted results from eight out of the twelve wards in Bonny, and the results show that our candidate has garnered a total of 27,512 votes, putting him comfortably ahead of his opponents. We are also expecting favorable results from the remaining four wards, which are yet to be declared. I am making this statement at around 11:15 PM on Saturday, October 5, 2024,” he noted.
Speaking on the development, the NNPP Chairmanship Candidate for Bonny Local Government Area, Ambassador Fubara Dagogo, called on his supporters and members of the party to remain calm as they continue to monitor the situation.
Ambassador Fubara assured the people that their efforts would not be in vain, adding that he would not allow anyone to claim his hard-earned victory at the polls. He emphasized that the people of Bonny Local Government Area stood solidly behind him and voted overwhelmingly for him, and that he has overwhelming evidence to reclaim his victory.
“I call on my supporters and the good people of Bonny to remain calm. We are carefully following developments. I thank our Governor for ensuring that the numerous threats to frustrate the election did not succeed. However, I have enough evidence to prove that I won this election hands down.
“We will not give up because the people of Bonny have made their choice, and I promise them that their efforts will not go in vain,” Fubara assured.
