It is no longer news that Chimaobi Ebisike of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was declared the winner in the March 27th, Aba North and Aba South Federal Constituency bye-election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
However, one unfortunate thing that will remain news for everyone interested in politics in Abia State, South East and the entire Nigeria is the embarrassing voter apathy recorded in the just concluded Aba bye-election.
Declaring the results at the INEC collation centre at the Constitution Crescent, Aba South Local Government Area, the Constituency returning officer for the bye-election, Prof. Felix Obata, announced that Chimaobi Ebisike of PDP polled a total of 10,322 votes to defeat Mascot Uzor-Kalu of APC who polled 3, 674 votes.
Going further in his announcement, Prof. Obata announced that the total number of votes cast were 16,017 while 245 votes were rejected, therefore confirming Chimaobi Ebisike of the PDP as the winner of the bye-election.
The 16,017 votes includes the votes gathered by other political parties like All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Action Alliance (AA) and others who participated in the election.
To a typical Nigerian politician, defeating your opponent with 6648 votes ahead is a landslide victory. Obviously, that is what it should be under normal circumstances, but was the number of votes cast in the just concluded Aba North and Aba South Federal Constituency bye-election normal?
For a city with a population of over two million (2 million) people to get an embarrassing vote of sixteen thousand, seventeen votes (16, 017 votes) in an election that brought too many panic and noise making is not a good sign for politics.
Yes, some may argue that out of the over two million people in Aba, a good number are residents of Osisioma Ngwa LGA, Obingwa LGA and Ugwunagbo LGA, as truthful as that may sound, Aba South and Aba North LGA on their own still harbour over 1.5 million people put together.
News Echo visited various wards and polling units in Aba North and South Local Government Areas of the State reports that some of the INEC ad-hoc staff were seen sleeping, dozing on duty as a result of the low turnout of voters.
When our reporter visited Osusu Primary School, INEC staff were seen sitting on the floor to perform their duties as the community could not provide them with seats and chairs.
At Osusu Hall, unit 34, only 15 out of 1239 accredited voters had voted at the time our correspondent visited the polling unit.
At unit 4 of the Golf course, only 15 person had voted at the time of News Echo’s visit, while 10 out of 781 voters at Okigwe road primary school voted.
Aba residents with impunity flouted the restriction on movement order by the state government as many commercial buses and tricycle operators were on the streets doing their normal business.
Many residents who spoke to News Echo described the low turnout of voters for the election as a total rejection of the current political structure in the land.
“Some years ago, someone called for election boycott and people were quarreling with him all over the entire media in Nigeria. Today, even without anyone calling for it, I’m ashamed to say that Aba is politically lost.
“Nobody should count on Aba during any serious election. This is disturbing I must confess. From time immemorial, whenever Ndigbo need block-votes, such votes normally come from Aba and Onitsha. With what we’re witnessing since 2015, 2019 and now, Aba has gone down.
“Maybe because of terrible governance or other factors like the Biafra agitation, but whatever it is, the earlier we rekindle the political hunger in Aba before the 2023 general election, the better for Ndigbo,” Barr. Kingsley Obi said after casting his vote at Ward-8 Aba South.
Elder Lewis Eme, a voter who spoke to News Echo at the Osusu Primary School said, “I don’t blame Aba people at all. What do you expect when a group of politicians have decided to make life unbearable for people.
“I saw a lot of young people playing football in front of my own house. If it were before, I’ll instruct them to follow me down to this place because I know they all have their PVCs, but what will be my justification to persuade them?
“Is it payment of salaries of good governance? Imagine politicians begging residents to come out and vote with their bags of money, but people collected the money and went home.
“Here in Osusu, I saw women shouting let me go and get my share. After getting it, you’ll still see them at home. This is disturbing.”
