The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the Enugu North Senatorial bye-election, Mr Ikeje Asogwa, the winner of the poll which took place on Saturday. Asogwa polled 162,094 votes to defeat the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Dr Nestor Ezeme, who scored 9,299 votes.
In his acceptance speech, Mr Asogwa thanked the people of the district for their support, trust, and confidence in him. He stated that, “The massive votes cast in my favour and that of our great party are not only a resounding mandate, but also a clear demonstration of your belief in our shared vision for a greater, more prosperous, and more inclusive Enugu North Senatorial Zone. I remain grateful for the solidarity, prayers, endorsements, and unwavering support that culminated in this historic outcome.”
He thanked Gov Peter Mbah for his “unwavering commitment to the unity, peace, and development of Enugu State”. He further congratulated his contestants “for their courage, commitment, and participation in the electoral process”.
In his words, “Democracy thrives when citizens and leaders freely contest ideas and seek the mandate of the people. Now that the election is over, I urge all of us to unite in the collective interest of our people and our state. There is no victor and no vanquished; the true winner is Enugu North Senatorial Zone.”
He pledged to provide quality, effective, and inclusive representation, “attract meaningful development, protect the interests of our people, and ensure that the dividends of democracy reach every community across our senatorial district.”
Meanwhile, the candidate of the PDP, Dr Nestor Ezeme, is yet to react to the outcome of the election. He rather shared, via his facebook page, a video clip of how a purported rigging occurred in one of the polling units. The characters in the video were seen thump printing ballot papers in favour of APC, with one of them jokingly saying, “Is this how you rig the election? You will go to jail”.
(The Whistler)