By LEONARD OKACHIE

Chief Samuel Onuigbo, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Abia Central Senatorial District, has rejected the outcome of the Feb. 25 National Assembly election.

His rejection of the result was over the omission of his party and name in the result sheet.

Onuigbo told newsmen in Umuahia on Wednesday that he rejected in its totality the figure of 7,997 votes allocated to him and his party by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He said: “It is very astonishing that the conduct of last Saturday’s Elections left much to be desired as INEC failed in its statutory responsibility of ensuring free, fair and credible poll.

“It is disheartening to inform you that INEC failed to include the name of my party on the result sheet for the 2023 Abia Central Senatorial Election.

“Consequently, the documentation of my scores in the Election was shambolic.

“This made a mess of your votes for me and left our votes at the mercy of the Presiding Officers who chose to either leave out the result, record it among the invalid or in rare cases create a column with their own hands to enter it,” he said.

Onuigbo queried why his name was missing on the result sheet, after INEC had uploaded it on its portal as APC Senatorial Candidate on Dec. 22, 2022, following his Court of Appeal victory on Nov. 30, 2022.

According to him, this puzzle should be resolved by INEC and the leadership of my party, APC that made no effort to correct the anormally at the appropriate time.

Onuigbo, representing Ikwuano/Umuahia North/Umuahia South Federal Constituency, said that he wrote a complaint letter to INEC on Feb. 26, but the commission failed to correct it despite promise to do so.

The two-term legislator displayed before the newsmen, a photocopy of the result sheet for Senatorial election, which he obtained from INEC, as evidence for his claim.

He said that he was consulting with his attorneys on the appropriate response to the grave omission.

Onuigbo appealed to his supporters to remain peaceful and law abiding “in the face of the provoking situation.”

He congratulated Sen. Bola Tinubu on his victory at the Presidential election, as well as other winners in the Feb. 25 elections.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that INEC had on Monday, declared Mr Darlington Nwokocha of Labour Party (LP) as the winner of the Abia Central Senatorial election.

The Returning Officer, Prof. Herbert Udo had announced that Nwokocha polled 92,116, while Rtd. Col. Augustine Akobundu of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) came second with 41,447 votes.

He had said that Onuigbo of APC scored 7,997 votes, while also declaring that Chukwumere Wachukwu of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) got 7, 395 votes. (NAN)

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