HURIWA to INEC: Release Enugu, Abia results immediately

Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to release results collated at various polling units in Enugu and Abia state.

Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, National Coordinator of HURIWA, made the call on Wednesday while briefing newsmen at the gate of INEC’s headquarters in Abuja.

Onwubiko alluded that the delay by INEC to declare the winner of the Enugu polls was a sinister plot to deny the electorate of their chosen governor.

He said, “We are here in front of the National Headquarters of INEC to task the electoral body to release immediately, the result already collated by their field officers statutorily responsible for conducting the gubernatorial poll in Enugu State. It is said that justice delayed is denied but in this instance, election result delayed is equal to cooking the result. Yakubu Mahmood must call the already collated result known to all stakeholders.

“The undue delay in calling out the winner of an election that ended over three days ago (March 18th 2023) meant only one thing –Sinister plot to deny the electorate their freely chosen governor.

HURIWA’s Onwubiko further urged INEC to declare justly the winner of Abia state, to allay worries and concerns of indigenes in the state.

According to him, “Also we ask that the case of Abia is so clear that everyone knows that the ‘Obingwa magic’ must be reviewed but timeously and the result announced so the anxieties of voters will abate. In Abia State it is as clear as the morning sunlight who the winner is and why the government of Abia State is actively attempting to sabotage the people’s mandate to railroad his lackey as winner. This manipulation is absolutely intolerable. INEC should announce the winner and stop playing the antics of a compromised referee.

“We feel that INEC has disappointed Nigeria by attempting to manufacture a separate report other than the one already collated, signed and uploaded and was put on hold because one of the parties protested. The case of Enugu is like putting on hold the World cup football final match between France and Argentina because France complained that they don’t like the antics of the Argentinian keeper even when there is no sufficient legal reason to do so.

“We ask INEC to know that basically, elections whose results are delayed and the results being cooked behind closed doors lack credibility, transparency, and accountability. INEC must not tamper with the original result already collated.

“INEC must do the needful as it has already stated that the results would be announced when collation resumes by 5pm today but we ask- which collation again?”