The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, will today, March, 14, present Certificates of Return, CoR, to winners of the February 23 National Assembly Elections.
Meanwhile, Gov. Rochas Okorocha of Imo State and Senator-elect, Imo West Senatorial District, has challenged INEC for striking out his name from the list of NASS members and withholding his certificate.
Recall that INEC had warned that any candidate declared winner under duress would not be given certificate of Return.
Recall also that the Returning officer for the Imo West Senatorial District had said he declared the results under duress.
Addressing some of his supporters who were at the government house on Wednesday to protest the conduct of the just concluded elections, Okorocha maintained that anyone who went against him would lose.
“I wonder why INEC will withhold my certificate for a frivolous reason, without hearing from me. I am not a violent person and those who know me know that.
“This is why we have peace in Imo state. The Returning Officer could not have done that under duress under the watchful eyes of the Police, DSS and party agents. I am not unmindful of the fact that those who are fighting me from Abuja are anxious to see me removed as a senator. I urge INEC to do the right thing immediately by releasing my certificate.
“Let me tell every Nigerian that I fought no one and no one should fight me. If anyone fights me, he will be the loser at the end of it all. My INEC Certificate cannot be touched or seized; doing so is belittling democracy in Nigeria. It is only the tribunal that has the right to say otherwise once a result is declared. INEC cannot seize my certificate by mere petition written by somebody in a case I was not given the opportunity to present my own side of the story,” he said.
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Meanwhile, INEC is set to present certificates to 102 senators-elect and 338 incoming members of the House of Representatives.
Members of the upper chamber will get their certificates by 10am while those of the lower chamber will receive theirs by 2pm.
According to INEC’s list of candidates, the All Progressives Congress, APC, has 63 senators while the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the YoungProgressives Party, YPP, have 38 and one respectively.
Seven seats were declared inconclusive for which supplementary elections would hold on March 23.For the House of Reps., APC has 211 members while PDP has 111 members.
The remaining 16 seats are shared thus: the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, six; African Democratic Congress, ADC, three; Action Alliance,AA, two and Peoples Redemption Party, PRP, two; African Democratic Party, ADP, Allied Peoples Movement , APM, and Social Democratic Party,SDP, have one each.
Elections for twenty-two seats (excluding Rivers) which were declared inconclusive will hold also on March 23.
Elections in Rivers State remain suspended following the violence that attended the governorship and state house of assembly polls.
