Igini To Supervise Anambra South Rerun , Polls Hold March 20

THE controversial  Anambra South Senatorial re-run election between the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate, Chief Chuma Nzeribe, and Dr. Andy Uba of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has  been rescheduled a couple of times in the past has now been slated for Tuesday, March 20, this year.

Also, the re-run will be supervised by Mr. Mike Igini, who  presided over the governorship rerun/by-elections in Imo State as the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Anambra State  Prof Chukwuemeka Onukogu has been asked  to step aside ahead of the polls..

Igini yesterday confirmed the development and told The Guardian that he was already on his way to Anambra State .

The INEC headquarters  in Abuja had issued a statement denying that  it has fixed March 17, 2012 for Anambra South senatorial  re-run election but Nzeribe countered the electoral body   by producing a letter addressed to APGA Chairman and signed by Onukogu informing the parties that the re-run election had been fixed for that date.

The APGA candidate accused the commission saying it was part of its plot to allow the 90-day window allowed by  the court of appeal in her judgment of  December 22, last year.

And  following assurances that no date had been fixed by INEC, the commission  went to press denying it had fixed a date for the rerun.

The election was ordered by the Court of Appeal Tribunal sitting in Enugu on December 22, 2011 sequel to the appeal brought before it by Nzeribe against Uba’s election.

The rerun  had earlier been fixed for February 16; later adjusted to February15, March 17, and now March 22, 2012.

Uba had made several unsuccessful efforts to set aside the verdict of the Court of Appeal.

Already, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu who has been slugging it out with Uba over the authentic PDP candidate has equally been campaigning for the election.

APGA has protested over the confusion and seeming double candidature by the PDP, stressing that it was against the spirit and specific provisions of the Electoral Act and the Constitution.