Enugu North bye-election was very peaceful – Prof. George Ugwu
Professor George Ugwu has countered dirty narratives by the opposition, declared that he witnessed Enugu North bye-election. It was “very peaceful,” he said, sharply contrasting with the opposition’s dirty propaganda.
Although officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had faced challenges at the beginning, the whole process went well, the professor said.
“INEC’s Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices cause some hitch initially in the morning but as the day progressed and the weather got clearer, it picked up and many voters did cast their votes.
“The initial delay in connectivity of the BVAS, delayed some voters that wanted to cast their votes early but the people waited patiently especially female voters,” Professor George Ugwu added.
Yesterday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conducted by-election in the six council areas in Enugu North senatorial district: Igbo-Etiti, Igbo Eze North, Igbo Eze South, Nsukka, Udenu, and Uzo-Uwani.
Earlier results showed Ikeje Asogwa, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, making clear lead in the polls.
However, the opposition parties have been crying fowl, sending posts in torrents on social media to discredit the exercise. In his own series of posts on Facebook, the flag-bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Nestor Ezeme, accused INEC as well of security officials of compromising.
Despite fielding credible candidates the five other political parties faced a lot of inherent, internal challenges that made failures inevitable in the first place.
Two days before the election, major stakeholders of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) challenged the process through which Mr Oscar Osai emerged as the party’s candidate. Publicly distancing themselves from Osai, they called on NDC national leadership to delist the him as the flag-bearer in the bye-election.
On its part, PDP, widely described as “empty party” among major political observers in the state, couldn’t have been expected to make a good outing in the polls. When Governor Peter Mbah defected to APC last year, he practically renamed the well rooted PDP structures across the state as every single major politician followed him. Only the “paperweight, disgruntled elements” remain in PDP. Others are APC moles, many of whom have been openly supporting the ruling party even as PDP officials in the state.
The by-election followed the demise of Sen. Okechukwu Ezea, representing Enugu North Senatorial District, who passed-on in November 2025.
Five other political parties include the APC, PDP, NDC, LP, and Boot Party.