Delta South Senatorial Election – Why Diden should be declared winner.

By Barry Agbanigbi – Asaba

The major task before INEC is to explain why the Delta South Senatorial election was called with a margin of just 2,299 votes between the declared winner and the first runner up while the results of an entire local government with voting strength of 162,082 was cancelled inexplicably.

It was one of the bizarre decisions taken by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the February 25 National Assembly elections in Delta South Senatorial zone. The trajectory of election results in Nigeria is replete with instances where elections were declared inconclusive on account of such stalemate.

Indeed, the Electoral Act, 2022, Regulations and Guidelines for Election 2022, Manual for Electoral Officials 2023, issued, published and used by INEC for the conduct of the National Assembly election of February 25, 2023, among other elections throughout Nigeria, provide for the Margin of Lead Principles, that where the margin of lead between the two leading candidates in an election is NOT in excess of the total number of collected Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) in polling units where elections are not held or cancelled, the Returning Officer shall decline to make a return until polls have taken place in the affected polling units and results collated into the relevant forms for Declaration and Return.

That was the case in Delta South Senatorial zone where Evangelist Michael Diden, popularly know as Ejele of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC’s), Mr. Joel-Onowakpo Ewomazino Thomas were the frontline rivals.

Of the eight councils in the zone, the result for one, Warri South Local Government Area, was unilaterally and inexplicably cancelled by INEC. This left the final result declared by the Returning Officer to be a misrepresentation of the wish of the people of the zone. Prof. Anthony Peretimina, the Returning Officer, declared that APC’s Joel-Onowakpo scored 49, 955 votes to defeat Diden of the PDP who polled 47,656 votes. Interestingly, the combined score of both front runners which is 97,611 votes is less than the 162,082 voters that had obtained their Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) and ready to vote.

Having controversially cancelled the votes in Warri South, the next logical and lawful step that ought to have been taken by INEC is to declare the election inconclusive and a supplementary election to be held in the affected council. The decision is actually a no-brainer.

At the end of the collation of votes during the September 2018 governorship election in Osun State, the PDP candidate, Ademola Adeleke, won majority votes of about 254,698 votes while Gboyega Oyetola of the APC came a close second with 254,345 votes. Both leading candidates had a difference of about 354 votes. Joseph Adeola Fuwape, the State Returning Officer, thereafter declared the election “inconclusive”. He explained that the total registered voters in the five polling units where elections were cancelled is 3,498 votes. Since that figure was higher than the difference between the votes of the leading candidates, a re-run election had to be conducted, the INEC chief explained.

Similarly, in Kano, in March 2019 governorship poll, despite PDP’s Abba Yusuf polling majority votes of 1,014,474 votes and Abdullahi Ganduje of the APC scoring 987,819 votes, the State Returning Officer, Bello Shehu, declared it inconclusive given that the difference of 26,655 votes is less than the total number of votes cancelled across 22 local government areas including Gama ward of Nasarawa local government which was put at 141,694 votes.

The previous instances where the cancellation of results in some units led to inconclusive election is one huge challenge INEC faces as the Tribunal begins sitting on Tuesday. Why did Prof. Anthony Peretimina cancel votes in a local government with 162,082 voters with PVCs and still proceeded to declare the result when the difference in the returns for the two front runners is just 2,299 votes? His bizarre decision can only be compared to what the Adamawa State Returning Officer, Hudu Ari, in what has been described as a coup attempt.

More than the seeming great chance for Ejele to reignite his bid to go to the red chamber, the integrity of INEC is believed to be at stake at the Tribunal. Can INEC defend Prof. Peretimina’s controversial decision that has no legal precedent? Will the electoral body ignore the path charted in reaching the final results in the Osun and Kano states gubernatorial elections? Or will INEC adopt the Adamawa option where Ari was overruled be adopted and tread the path of rectitude and ask the Tribunal to compare inec to review the result of warri south local government and thereafter declare Hon. Diden the winner of the election.

Presidential,National assembly,Governorship, and State assembly elections were conducted and results announced in same local Government with the peoples Democratic Party recording overwhelming victory and why senatorial results were cancelled under circumstances that puzzled members of the public.

Alarm of alleged incidence of the hostage of INEC officials at the local government and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) agents by the All Progressive Congress (APC) was shunned by the state INEC.