…37 parties endorse exercise, APC, HDP kick
From Chidi Nnadi, Enugu
 
Less than 12 hours the Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC) declared the results of the local government election held in the state on Saturday, opposition political parties are now sharply divided on the outcome of the polls.
The opposition political parties in the state before the conduct of the election were united in faulting the ENSIEC on the disqualification of their candidates, which forced the electoral umpire to reverse itself.
But Monday, 37 of the opposition political parties broke away from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Hope Democratic Party (HDP) to endorse the results as announced by the ENSIEC.
The ENSIEC had on Sunday night announced that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won the chairmanship position in all the 17 local government areas and 258 councillorship out of 260 in the state, saying that two wards, Eke and Obioma in Udi council, were cancelled.
As APC and HDP were protesting the conduct of the election, which they claimed was a sham, 37 other opposition political parties in the state commended the ENSIEC for conducting a free and fair election.
At a press briefing held yesterday at Guaranty Hotel, Enugu, the opposition parties led by the Chairman of Social Democratic Party, John Nwobodo, said: “The undersigned 37 registered political parties in Enugu State heartily congratulate the Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC) for the peaceful, free and fair conduct of the local government elections held across the 260 wards and 17 local government areas of Enugu State on Saturday, 4th November 2017.
From our first-hand observation of the election in every part of the state and the interim report, we adjudge the election, free, fair and credible and confirm that it met the minimum requirements of international best practices.
“Yes, we noted non-arrival of election materials on time in some places, the commission, however, took immediate steps to remedy the challenge it posed to the franchise of  the electorate and extended the period of voting to 5:00p.m to enable every eligible registered voter to cast his or her vote.
“There were few skirmishes and isolated cases of attempts to hijack electoral materials yet these incidents are too infinitesimal and not widespread or substantial to affect the outcome of the election.”
The 37 party chairmen also commended ENSIEC for its neutrality and impartiality throughout the period, beginning with the date of issuance of notice of election on August 1.
They noted that “never in the history of local government elections in Enugu has there been a commission that leaves its door open to the political parties. The commission was accessible to the political parties and much more they were receptive to superior arguments.
“We acknowledge that the commission yielded to all the demands of political parties, including removal of payment of nomination fees by candidates, reversing the disqualification of candidates for non-payment of tax or presentation of tax clearance certificate, and on other grounds.”
As the briefing was about to close, the state Chairman of the APC, Dr Ben Nwoye stormed the venue to challenge his colleagues from the other parties.
He challenged them to tell the journalists where in the state the election was properly conducted, claiming that the election in the state was marred by irregularities.
According to Nwoye, delivery of materials for the election to the polling booths were delayed late into the night while in some places they did not arrive at all.
He lambasted his colleagues for converging to endorse what they knew was a charade.