Abia State’s former governor, Orji Uzo Kalu is not a political neophyte. The All Progressives Congress (APC) senator representing Abia north was governor for eight years. On two occasions, he contested for presidency and lost. At other times, he contested the senatorial seat of his zone and lost. The defeats did not whittle his spirit.Providence, however, smiled on him during the build up to the 2019 general elections when he pitched membership with the APC and won the senatorial election. It was a victory that was however, suspected to have been earned dubiously.
But Kalu, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which declared him winner, scored 31,201 votes to defeat then occupant of the seat and the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Mao Ohuabunwa, who polled 20,801.
The Returning Officer for the election, Dr. Charles Anumudu, who declared the result, said Ohuabunwa came second, while the candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) Chief David Ogba scored 11,410 votes.
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On the strength of the result, Kalu went to the Senate and emerged as Chief Whip. This was after he mounted an elaborate campaign to become the Senate President and why the Southeast should be allowed to produce senate president. He however chickened out when the chips were down.
Back to Orji’s victory at the senatorial election, Ohuabunwa had protested the result and declared it “a daylight robbery.” He had claimed that the number of cancelled votes, totaling 76,889, was higher than the margin of lead, put at 10,402 votes, adding that the difference between the margin of victory and cancelled votes was 66,487.
For this, he had approached the Tribunal in Umuahia, the Abia State capital. On Monday, the Tribunal delivered its judgment. It had annulled the election of Senator Kalu and ordered the INEC to conduct supplementary elections within 90 days in eight wards in Arochukwu Local Government Area and several other polling units in Ohafia and Isukwuato LGAs, where votes were cancelled during senatorial election in the district.