No Female Governor Yet - Leadership

9 years ago

No Female Governor Yet - Leadership

The hope that the 2015 governorship election will produce the first female elected governor in the country has appeared forlorn as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Architect Darius Ishaku was coasting home to victory in the early stages of result collation in the state. The likely victory of Ishaku is gradually dashing the expectation that Aishat Alhassan, the female governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC could become the first elected female governor in the country.

The results of the election at the polling units across the 218 voting points across the 10 local government areas of the state, clearly placed Ishaku ahead of Senator Alhassan. The figures show that Ishaku has polled a total of 1598 votes against APC’s 427 as at the time of filling this report.

In Imo State, bookmakers lived to their billing as the results of the re-rungovernorship election in Imo state trickled in, with the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Rochas Okorocha, comfortably coasting home to victory.

Okorocha’s victory is not without a fight as Senator Hope Uzodima, was arrested alongside five ad-hoc officials of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), for alleged fraudulent thump-printing ballot papers.

Senator Uzodima is a notable supporter of Governor Okorocha’s main challenger, Honourable Emeka Ihedioha, deputy speaker, House of Representatives of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

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The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Job Doma, led the arrest of the five INEC personnel at Omuma, Oru East local government area, where Senator Uzodinma comes from.

Preliminary results show that in Central School Omuma unit (Oru East), APC polled 54, while PDP has 13. In Amiri Ward 1, APC 168, PDP 4. In Ogwa Ward 1, PDP 31, APC 124 while the APC polled 116 to PDP’s 111 in Ogbaku 008.

In Ebenator Okwe Ward 2, APC scored 206 while PDP polled 45. In Nnorie Ward 8 APC recorded 145, PDP 83.

In Abia, PDP governorship candidate, Okezie Ikpeazu and Alex Otti of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, will know their fate today, as counting continued late into the night yesterday.

The Abia election witnessed large turnout of voters, just as the exercise was peaceful as at the time of filling this report. Otti of the APGA is the main challenger of Ikpeazu, the PDP candidate.

At the centers visited, it was observed that the electoral materials arrived early enough, resulting in early accreditation of voters.

At the Industrial Ward in Aba North local government, accreditation started about 9 am with an impressive turn out of voters.

At Umuola Ward 8, Civic Centre Polling Unit, accreditation started at 10 am. The atmosphere in the polling units and their ambience was peaceful and calm as voters milled around waiting for accreditation to be completed.

The presence of security men was noticeable at the various polling units In Umuahia South local government

Accreditation started at 8am in Umuobutu Unit in Old Umuahia. The turnout was also impressive as some eligible voters had come out as early as 7.30 am

The situation was almost the same at Unit 006 and 007 at the Community Primary school Isieke Ibeku in Umuahia North local government where the INEC staff arrived about 8.30 am and started accreditation at 9am.

The card readers were in use and they functioned optimally taking an average of three minute to identify the finger prints of a prospective voter. Collation of results in the state spilled into the early morning hours of today.

In Kofan Sarki polling unit in Takum local government area of the state where Darius voted, voting ended around 4:08p.m.

Darius who voted at about 2:30pm at his polling unit was optimistic of victory, saying his victory was only delayed but cannot be denied.