Politics
Abaribe Advocates Full Electronic Voting To Enthrone Credible Elections
The Senator-elect for Abia South Senatorial District, Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe, has called for full electronic voting in the country in order to enthrone transparent and credible elections.
Abaribe was re-elected for a sixth tenure in the Upper Chamber in last Saturday’s National Assembly (NASS) elections on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
He spoke on his victory and the challenges that characterised the electoral process in an interview with newsmen in his Obingwa country home on Thursday.
He said: “I am one of those that believed that the process of the elections was flawed.
“But I call for calm and peace and people should resort to the legal means to redress the error.
“It is such a bloody shame that INEC will manipulate the scores by candidates.
“It happens because the result sheets are in the hands of INEC officials.
“We should introduce full electronic voting that is tamper-proof.
“It is possible. We are in electronic age.
“It is time we got adapted to modern technology.
“We cannot continue to play with our existence.”
The former Senate Minority Leader said that it had become shameful that the country’s electoral process was still being conducted manually.
He said that the practice where result sheets were often mutilated with written, cancelled and re-written scores in the process of falsification to rig elections was debasing to the country’s image.
Abaribe said that INEC dashed the people’s hope for a fair and credible exercise with its failure to achieve electronic transmission of results from the polling units to its portal.
“Throughout its planning stages, INEC kept assuring us that it was prepared to conduct credible elections so we thought that everything would work smoothly,” he said.
According to him, the transmission of results electronically failed, coupled with the failure of other logistics for the distribution of electoral materials.
“The sensitive materials did not arrive early and they were found in the hands of those, who had no business with them,” he further said.
Abaribe, who polled 49,693 votes, also spoke on how he roundly defeated Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu, who came a distant third with 28,422 votes.
“The margin of defeat would have been massive, if the process had worked well without hitches here and there,” he said.
He attributed his victory to his quality representation to his constituency and being closer to the grassroots.
“My title is “Mma aya (sword) Ndigbo worldwide.
“I have the love of the Igbo nation. My people love me.
“It is good to always be with your people, stand for them always and make yourself accessible to them.
“My people showed me love and it is sweet victory for the downtrodden, civil servants and pensioners, who are owed arrears of salaries,” he said.
He promised to reward his constituents for their trust by remaining a strong and consistent voice in the National Assembly.
Abaribe took a swipe at the outgoing Ikpeazu-led administration for its lacklustre performance in eight years.
“Abia gets tax revenue, revenue from oil derivation and not owed Federal Allocation for both the state and Local Government councils yet the government cannot pay salaries and pensions,” he said.
Abaribe, who was a founding member of PDP, said that the party’s poor showing in the NASS election had further buried PDP in Abia.
“PDP is gone and buried along with the Progressive Peoples Alliance that transmutted itself into PDP.
“They have ended up grounding the party and themselves,” he said, adding that APGA would work hard to install Prof. Greg Ibe as the next governor.
“We will fight for Ibe to become the governor to repair the rot that the PDP-led government had caused in its eight years in the state,” he said.
Claiming that elections in the country are typically characterized by vote buying, Mr Nwosu said a repeat of such phenomenon would taint the credibility of the forthcoming gubernatorial poll.
Mr Nwosu is among the 16 governorship candidates listed by INEC in a June 4, 2025 statement to participate in the November 8, 2025 election in Anambra State.
His party, the ADC, will battle it out with other parties to unseat incumbent Governor Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
Mr Nwosu, in a statement on Saturday, said it was baffling seeing voters openly selling their votes to party agents and other representatives around polling units on election day.
According to him, “such practices not only derail the true will of the people but also reduce elections to an auction, where the state is effectively handed over to the highest bidder.”
Mr Nwosu urged INEC to introduce secure voting cubicles that would safeguard the legitimate rights of voters and uphold the sovereignty of democracy.
“INEC must provide secure voting cubicles to ensure ballots remain private and secret. Currently, many polling areas are too exposed, allowing others to see the voting process. This not only encourages vote buying but also undermines the integrity of the elections.
“Voting must remain secret. Nigeria already has strong electoral laws which, if properly enforced, can deliver outcomes that truly benefit society”, Mr Nwosu said.
He held that the Anambra governorship election was another opportunity for INEC to secure the trust of Nigerians about its commitment to transparency and fairness during polls.
He also noted the role of security agencies in tackling the menace of vote buying on the day of election.
He said, “The success of any political activity depends largely on security, because security is key. While it is not solely INEC’s duty to ensure elections are properly conducted, the Commission must create an enabling environment that allows citizens to participate freely, conduct themselves properly, and exercise their right to vote.”
The party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, called on the relevant security agencies to investigate the attackers and their sponsors.
“The Labour Party is perplexed by the physical attack on our National Chairman, Barrister Julius Abure, by agents suspected to be working for anti-democratic elements who have tried unsuccessfully to wrestle the leadership of the party from him.
“Few hours ago, a prominent member of a known political family, Ms Precious Oruche, alias ‘Mama P’, accosted Barrister Abure while on a queue at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport Abuja, boarding a Max Air flight en route to Benin, and attacked the Labour Party’s National Chairman unprovoked.
“The attacker, Madam P, who is also a known content creator, continued the attack all through the duration of the flight, defying all attempts by the Max Air flight attendants to calm her.
“The assault, which attracted a large population of onlookers, continued unabated on disembarkment at the Benin Airport while she continued recording the scene.
“It took the intervention of the security agents on hand to whisk Abure to safety while the attacker was handed over to the police for questioning.
“In one of her films released, the lady, who is a prominent member of the ‘Obidient’ and claimed that she has contacts with the highest police hierarchy, boasted that nothing will happen to her.
“She vowed that she will not stop attacking Abure or any member of the Labour Party executive because, according to her, ‘you have killed Labour Party and you are the reason why Obi is no longer in the Labour Party.’
“The leadership of the Labour Party is completely troubled with this cyber-bullying and the consequences of the action of this political agent on the party. We are by this statement calling on the Inspector General of Police to thoroughly investigate this suicidal aggression against the leadership of the Labour Party and Barrister Julius Abure in particular.
“We sincerely believe that the lady-agent was on an assignment to accomplish the desires of her paymasters. Assault and cyber-bullying are severe crimes under our laws and we think that the Police must fish out her sponsors and cohorts, and bring them to book.
“We are calling on the members of the Labour Party to be calm, even in the face of this unwarranted provocation and wait for the outcome of the investigation on the unprovoked attack against the leadership of the party,” the statement read.
Speaking during the party’s congress in Yola, the state capital, on Saturday, Mr David Lorhenba, the chairman, Adamawa Congress Committee, described the exercise as hitch-free.
He said that a total of 2,656 delegates from 21 local government areas came out and elected 39 officials.
Mr Lorhenba commended the delegates for conducting themselves in an orderly manner.
“The conduct of the congress is very successful, all the delegates come from 21 Local Government Areas and cast their votes peacefully.
“We have a total of 2,656 delegates and we have announced the winners very successfully”, he said.
In his remarks, Alhaji Attahiru Shehu, the outgoing chairman, congratulated the new executives and charged them to continue on what they have already done for the party to remain strong.
According to him, they started as opposition in the state and produced Gov. Ahmadu Fintiri who is serving his second term, opining they “he has done well for the state.”
In his acceptance speech, Mr Madagali thanked the delegates for the confidence they reposed in him.
He promised to run an open door policy in manning the affairs of the party.
“Let us continue the legacy of good governance and prepare ahead for 2027 with focus, discipline and unity.
“To those outside our party, especially the youths and women of Adamawa, we invite you into our party.
“PDP is your home. Our doors are open to all who wish to contribute positively to the development of our state.
“Our party will continue to be a shining example of people-focused on leadership,” he said.
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