The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Saturday’s Aba North/ South Federal Constituency bye-election, Mascot Uzor Kalu, has reacted to the outcome of the election.
Bibian Anekwe News reports that the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chimaobi Ebisike, was declared the winner of the bye-election of Saturday.
The Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Returning Officer for the exercise, Professor Fidelis Okpata, declared Ebisike the winner of the poll around 2am on Sunday.
He stated that the PDP candidate polled 10,322 votes to defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Mascot Uzor Kalu, who scored 3,674 votes, while the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Destiny Nwagwu, polled 1,554 to come third.
But in a statement, he personally signed and made available to newsmen on Sunday in Abia, Uzor Kalu said he will not be challenging the outcome of the election.
Mascot, who is the younger brother of the Senate Chief Whip, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, noted that even though his party has enough evidence to reclaim his mandate, he has accepted the result of the poll.
He decried the level of thuggery, violence, and rigging that allegedly characterised the poll, stating that the unfortunate development called for “a deeper review of our electoral laws.
The APC member, however, appealed to party members and his supporters to accept the outcome of the election in good faith.
The statement reads: “Even though we have enough evidence to reclaim our mandate, we won’t be going to court.
“This is to allow the winner to concentrate and provide good representation and infrastructure to the good people of Aba.
“Every country is peculiar to its people. Nigerians should support the electoral law being amended because it will help us to strengthen our democracy.
“The Electoral Act as it is renders the security agencies with arms weak in the face of violence at the polls and therefore needs a revisit.
“While the opposition wanted the election at all cost, we chose life over bloodshed and therefore won lives and lost the polls. To us, that was a greater victory.
“Once again, I thank the Aba people for coming out en masse to vote for the APC and I congratulate the winner, Chimaobi Ebisike and PDP.
“It is not because they won but because it is gentlemanly to do so.”
