A former Nigerian Ambassador to Ireland has lost her controversial bid to become one of Nigeria’s 109 powerful senators.
Dr Kemafo Chikwe, a member of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) board of trustees and the party’s candidate for the Imo State East senatorial constituency, was defeated by a sitting female senator and candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance party in the rescheduled polls on 9 April.
Metro Éireann has gathered that Dr Chikwe pulled 80,925 votes to come second against the winning candidate Chris Anyanwu’s total of 84,342.
Action Congress of Nigerian candidate Barrister Uche Onyeagocha came third with 45,215 votes. A total of 10 different party candidates contested the election in the senatorial zone, which comprises nine local authorities.
Ironically, winner Anyanwu is the incumbent senator who lost to Dr Chikwe at the PDP’s nomination for the Imo State East senate seat last January.
“Kema lost woefully,” said Joe Nwachukwu, editor of local newspaper National Question.
He told Metro Éireann: “She lost in her local government and lost in all [three] local governments [in Owerri] where she comes from.”
On his assessment of the national assembly elections, which were rescheduled from Saturday 2 April due to the late arrival of voting materials, Nwachukwu added: “People are saying that it’s free and fair but it would take a few days for the dust to settle.
“Elections in places like Nigeria are not like what you have in Europe and America. There are so many vested interests and everyone wants to maximise his interest.”
He said some people think “it’s a great departure to what we had in the past, but that is neither here or there until the dust settles.
“Personally, I think this is a great improvement… I have not heard cases of ballot snatching,” he said, adding that the fairness of the vote remains to be seen.
It is widely believed that the PDP government in Imo State, led by Governor Ikedi Ohakim, did not want Anyanwu to win and were unhappy with the result.
It is alleged that unsuccessful attempts were made to manipulate the result in favour of Dr Chikwe. However, the claim has been completely denied by the governor.
“Not true,” said Henry Ekpe, chief press secretary to Governor Ohakim, when questioned by Metro Éireann “The current Independent National Election Comm-ission (INEC) has no time for manipulations and no one dares try.”
Ekpe pointed to a number of high-profile losses in the elections as proof. “[Even] Obasanjo’s daughter lost. Governor Ohakim has nothing against Chris Anyanwu and didn’t try to upturn the result,” he said.
At press time, neither Dr Chikwe nor Senator Anyanwu could be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, the PDP has rejected the result of the Imo State East senatorial constituency.
Chief Eze Duruiheoma, Imo State chairman of the party, told the press that the party was exploring a legal challenge to the result.
He said the election in the constituency was characterised by violence.
Two more elections are expected to follow the national assembly elections. This Saturday Nigerians will choose a new president, while the gubernatorial elections will follow on 26 April.
A recent poll on the presidential election, as reported in the previous editon of Metro Éireann, found that most Nigerians living in Ireland would like to see President Goodluck Jonathan rule Africa’s most populous nation.
His strongest opponents are former military president Muhammadu Buhari of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the Action Congress of Nigeria’s (ACN) Nuhu Ribadu, who was the country’s anti-corruption czar.
