Abia by-election: APC candidate accepts defeat as Ohaneze lauds peace conduct of polls

Isiguzoro charged losers of the bye-election to accept defeat in good faith and attributed the peaceful outcome of the exercise to the clear manifestation of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s developmental strides in Aba, the commercial nerve centre of Abia State.

TrackNews online reports that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate for the Aba North/South Federal Constituency bye-election, Chimobi Iheanyichukwu Ebisike, won the Saturday polls, as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission,(INEC).

According to the INEC’s Returning Officer, the PDP candidate, Chimaobi Ebisike polled a total of 10,322 votes to defeat his closest challenger and candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Mascot Uzor Kalu who scored 3,674 votes.

Ebisike will now fill the vacant seat left by the death of Ossy Prestige, the constituency’s former representative who died in Germany in 2020.

The Abia-born Ohanaeze Ndigbo Secretary-General, in a statement on Sunday, in Umuahia, admonished the winner of the election and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chimaobi Ebisike to extend a hand of friendship to the APC and APGA candidates towards seeking ideas in complementing the state government’s efforts in its infrastructural agenda for Aba city.

According to Isiguzoro, “the election has come and gone after the tension generated in the Aba city. We call on losers in the just concluded poll to accept defeat in good faith for the overall interest of the state. We laud the peaceful manner and maturity exhibited by the critical political actors.

“Now that the exercise has gone, and a new Representative for Aba North and Aba South federal constituency has emerged, it is time for all well-meaning Aba constituents leave politics and rally round the new lawmaker in the enormous tasks of developing economic hub of the state.

“Also, the outcome of the election did not come to us and indeed the Aba electorates as a surprise, because of the marvellous performances of the PDP-led administration mostly in the area of road construction and reconstruction, promotion of Made in Aba product through SME and ongoing establishment of Enyimba Economic City.

“I will urge the new Representative to see his election as the grace of God and render quality service to the Aba people that overwhelmingly defiled political moneybags and their antics to vote for him”.

In the same vein, the Candidate of the All Progressive Congress(APC), in the just concluded Aba North and South bye-election in Abia State, Mascot Uzor-Kalu has declared that he would not approach the court to challenge the outcome of the election.

In a statement signed and issued to newsmen on Sunday, Mascot appealed to party members and supporters to accept the outcome of the elections in good faith while appreciating them for making the Party stronger in Abia.