INEC Declares Asogwa Winner of Enugu North Senatorial By-Election Amid Controversy

The single sharpest fact is that Ikeje Asogwa of APC has been declared winner of the Enugu North Senatorial by-election, but the margin of victory is a staggering 153,061 votes.

INEC's Returning Officer, Professor Christian Ezeibe, declared Asogwa winner of the election, which was held in Enugu State on Saturday. Asogwa polled 162,360 votes to defeat his closest rival, Nestor Ezeme of PDP, who got 9,299 votes.

But the opposition parties are not taking this lying down. The PDP candidate, Ezeme, described the election as a 'charade and rape of democracy' and alleged that APC resorted to violence and ballot-snatching due to their unpreparedness and lack of popularity in the Senatorial District.

Ezeme also claimed that there were widespread intimidation and suppression of opposition voters by APC thugs, who shot sporadically at Ogwu/Umuodu polling Unit, dispersed voters before running away with electoral materials.

The National Vice Chairman (South East) of the PRP, Peter Okafor, called on INEC to cancel the election due to 'widespread electoral violence and intimidation of voters'. 'I am surprised that in an ordinary Senatorial by-election, there were a lot of thuggery, electoral violence, snatching of ballot boxes and electoral materials. Our supporters were shot at and severed with axe,' he said.

The Director General of PRP's candidate Campaign Organization, Juliet Ugwuja, also called on INEC to cancel the election due to 'widespread electoral violence observed during the election'. She added that her party will challenge the result of the election in court if their candidate is not declared the winner.

But the APC local government candidates in Udenu and Igbo-Eze North Local Government Areas of Enugu State, Dr. Innocent Ezeoha, and Onyekachi Simon respectively, described the election in their local governments as 'free, fair and credible'. They said APC mobilized voters and are confident that Asogwa will give the people of the District quality representation at the Senate.

'I wish to express my special appreciation to my leader, mentor, and the leader of our great party, the pragmatic, dynamic, ebullient, effervescent, innovative, and visionary Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Barr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah,' Asogwa said in his appreciation address.

A voter, Sunday Ofoma, was shot, while Sunday Ugwuja's head was severed with axe at Obukpa in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State while they were trying to exercise their franchise.

Also, two journalists, Chinazom Amadi, who publishes Dega Voice Newspaper, and Uche Okwuanyionu, of Lion FM, UNN, were arrested by security agencies for covering the election and later released.

INEC's declaration of Asogwa as winner of the election has sparked controversy and tension in Enugu State, with many calling for a rerun of the election.