Enugu Election: Edeoga claims he won, vows to challenge results

CHIJIOKE Edeoga, Enugu State Labour Party Gubernatorial candidate in the just concluded state election, has claimed that he won the March 18 governorship election.

Edeoga, who made this claim today, March 24 in a statement which he signed, noted that the strong desire of Enugu people for change made them vote overwhelmingly for him as the Labour Party candidate in the election.

“By the night of Saturday, March 18, the result from every Local Government Area, LGA, in the State was already well known, and it was clear that I had been given the mandate to lead Enugu State in a new direction in the next four years,” he said.o

He assured that this mandate is a sacred trust and not negotiable.

Edeoga noted that the desperation of a coterie of politicians in the state working in cahoots with a handful of compromised Independent National E0lectoral Commission, INEC, officers to toy with the destiny of a great people cannot succeed.

However, he assured his supporters and the entire people of Enugu that he will take all legal channels to reclaim the mandate

“These persons cannot be allowed to subvert the will of millions of our people.

“The people’s will is supreme.

“Our team of dedicated and competent lawyers has been instructed to take the appropriate legal steps to restore the people’s mandate to me and the Labour Party,” he said.

Edeoga therefore lauded the support the Labour Party got from Enugu state both in the Presidential/National Assembly and the Governorship/State Assembly polls.

According to him, Ndi Enugu State voted overwhelmingly for transformational change in the two elections to show solidarity despite the determination of a handful of inelegant elements to change the course of history.

He recalled that in the Presidential election, Enugu gave the Labour Party 428,640 out of the 468,891 votes cast, making 88.7 per cent of the total votes cast.

“In the same election, your total support made our party win seven out of the eight federal constituencies in our state,” he said.

Realnews reports that the Labour Party, which became overwhelmingly accepted across the federation less than nine months before the general elections and was massively supported by the “Obidient Movement”, clinched two senatorial seats in Enugu state.

Kelvin Chukwu of the Labour Party, younger brother to Oyibo Victor Chukwu, who was assassinated some weeks before the election, defeated Sen. Chimaroke Nnamani, former Enugu state two-term Governor to represent Enugu East senatorial district, while Okechukwu Ezea defeated the incumbent Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to clinch the Enugu North senatorial seat.

Similarly, the Labour Party claimed 14 out of the 24 seats in the state Assembly to win a two-third majority in the state legislative position.

“All this took place because you want a change in Enugu State,” Edeoga said.

Meanwhile, Edeoga lamented the vicious attacks meted on the Labour Party, its supporters and in some cases, its candidate which also resulted in death.

It is also pertinent to note that the result of Enugu and Abia state took four days before INEC concluded collation and announced the winner and thereby raising dust for questions on the credibility of the results.

Edeoga therefore expressed confidence in the judiciary, urging Ndi Enugu to go about their normal business, while he and his legal team pursue the case through judicial processes.