SENATOR Liyel Imoke of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has emerged winner of the re-run governorship election in Cross River State.
He polled 650,723 votes to beat his rival, Dr. Paul Ukpo of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) who got 15,734 of the total 694,855 votes cast while 13,749 votes were rejected.
The resident electoral commissioner Barrister Josiah Uwazuruonye, who supervised the election, declared Imoke the victor, saying: “I hereby certify that as a Returning Officer for the election and that the election was contested and the recorded votes accordingly…Imoke is hereby declared the winner and he is hereby elected.”
However, the agent of ANPP, Mr. Celestine Awoh, rejected the result declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in these words: “This result does not reflect what happened in the field and we are ready to contest it.
“Before I append my signature on the result, I thought I should make the position of the ANPP known in this matter, and that is we are not accepting the result as it is because it does not reflect the true position of things on the field.”
Immediately after he spoke, Information and Communications Minister, Mr. John Odey, went to where he was sitting and jokingly dragged him to the high table where he signed the result of the election before it was formally declared.
PDP leaders in the state, notably Odey and a former senator, Musa Adede, were unanimous in praising the peaceful conduct of the election, seeking the co-operation of the people with the new administration to deliver the dividend of democracy.
Odey, who spoke to reporters at the venue of the declaration, believed that after the campaign, the people should put politics aside and come to work together for their common benefit.
Similarly, Adede, who represented Cross River North in the Senate, said that with the resounding victory of the PDP, the state was going to witness a fresh beginning in terms of development and that all that was now required was co-operation and understanding of the people.
Dr. Chuks Odekpe, the Head, Civil Society, Liaison Unit in INEC said: “The election was free and fair. This is one of the most peaceful elections I have ever experienced; no rigging, no violence and Nigerians should learn how to take defeat and learn how to congratulate the winners, because tomorrow could be your turn.
“I would advise other parties to always talk to their agents in the fields; some had no agents at all and some of the agents who were there were even sleeping, but for the winner, he should learn how to carry the losers and everybody along.”
Imoke described his victory as the re-affirmation of the April 14, 2007 election which was voided on July 14. For him, the fresh mandate was a call to service anchored on probity and transparency.
Flanked by his wife, Obioma and his running mate, Dr. Efiok Cobhams, the governor-elect thanked the people for the renewed confidence reposed in the team, promising to re-energise the administration of the state without necessarily making changes.
But he quickly added that where there was the necessity to have a change, he would not hesitate to do so, “but our focus is on service delivery.”
He added that the fact that the latest margin of victory was wider than that of last year placed a greater burden on the new administration to deliver more dividend for the people.