A primary election for a 5-man delegate/councillorship in Ebonyi State turned violent on Friday. The election, held ahead of the Local Government Area election scheduled for July 20, 2024, saw clashes between members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and election overseers, leading to injuries among participants.
Disputes arose particularly in Ekka ward of Ezza North, where some youths reported no election took place. Contrarily, Barr Ikeuwa Omebe, the Commissioner for Rural Development, asserted that the election in Ekka ward was conducted peacefully. Omebe maintained that the election process in his presence was orderly and free of violence, suggesting any reported incidents occurred post-election.
Further allegations of election misconduct emerged from Okposhi Ward I in Ngbo Central, where aspirants Agbo Sunday and Igwe Frank Arinze accused election officials of conspiring against them. Sunday called for the election’s annulment, citing biased result counting, while Arinze claimed his votes were deliberately ignored, leading to a violent altercation orchestrated by election officers. Both aspirants have appealed to Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru and APC leadership to address these irregularities.