23rd December, 2013
Mr Tony Nwoye, PDP governorship candidate in the November 16 gubernatorial election in the eastern Nigerian state of Anambra, says he has filed a petition challenging the election of Chief Willy Obiano at the election tribunal in Awka.
Nwoye made the disclosure on Monday in Awka, during an interactive session with stakeholders of the party.
He said he went to court to challenge the verdict of the poll, in which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Willie Obiano of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) winner.
Nwoye said the need to challenge the verdict of the poll became imperative because “the whole world attested to the fact that the governorship election was fraught with fraud”.
He said that the leadership of the PDP both at the zonal and state levels had decided to petition against the outcome of the election.
“This is contrary to speculations that the PDP will not go to court over the governorship election,” he said.
Nwoye expressed optimism that the PDP would upstage APGA “just like Gov. Peter Obi displaced Dr Chris Ngige and Dr Ifeanyi Uba through the instrumentality of the court’’.
He commended members of the party in the state for their support which “enabled the PDP clinched the second position despite the fact that its campaign started two weeks before the election”.
Nwoye also commended President Goodluck Jonathan and the national leadership of the party for their support during the poll.
“PDP would have been an orphan in Anambra if not for the support of President Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Arthur Eze and some few other individuals,” he said.
Obiano polled 180,178 votes to emerge the winner of the election while Nwoye, garnered 97,700 votes to place second.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Sen. Chris Ngige secured 95,963 votes while Dr Ifeanyyi Ubah of Labour Party scored 37,495 votes to place third and fourth respectively.