Returning Officer for Abia North Senatorial District in the March 28 poll, Associate Professor Ihekweaba Chukwugoziem of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, near Umuahia, has disassociated himself from any manipulated result in the senatorial election in the area.
Chukwugoziem, who swore to an affidavit at the Federal High Court, Umuahia, stated that as the returning officer for Abia North, he never announced anybody as the winner of the election due to irregularities discovered in many of the results that came from the local government areas.
He averred that based on the irregularities, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Abia State set up a committee, which uncovered irregularities in the results submitted from the local government areas.
He stated: “Up and until the evening of April 1, 2015, the anomalies and irregularities were still being unearthed and so, none of the candidates could be returned as the winner of the election, as the committee had not concluded the exercise and collation of the results not yet done.
“I have not collated the results and have not declared any of the candidates winner and have not returned any of them as the winner of the election, in view of the issues that are yet to be resolved.”
