How INEC Declared Prisoner Winner Of Enugu Re-run Election

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

An Inmate of the Nigerian Custodial Centre, Bright Ngene,  of the Labour Party, LP has been curiously declared the winner of the much controversial and seemingly problematic re-run polls for the  Enugu South state Constituency .

The re-run election held by the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC in the troubled Constituency last Saturday August 16, was the fourth attempt since 2023 .

However, the August 16 exercise which also ran into a storm saw the INEC declaring Ngene, who is presently serving a 7-year jail sentence, the winner after initially designating the election as inconclusive.

Sam Olumekun, the INEC Commissioner for Voter Education in a statement on Tuesday declared Ngene the winner, having polled the highest number of votes to defeat his closet rival from the Peoples Democratic party PDP.

“Two re-run elections by order of the Election Appeal Tribunal were held in Enugu and Kano states .

“After previous disruptions of the elections in the two states by violence and thuggery, the exercise have now been concluded

“For the Enugu South 1 State Constituency of Enugu State, Ngene Bright Emeka of the Labour Party, LP, was declared the winner” Olumekun stated.

“Certificate of Return would be  presented to the successful candidates August 21 and 22 ,2025 in Abuja and state offices respectively” Olumekun stated

The Source reports that Ngene was, in July ,2024, convicted and sentenced while still battling to reclaim his mandate

He was said to have been  convicted and sentenced to seven years jail term by an Enugu South Magistrate Court in connection with the communal crisis that engulfed Akwuke Community over the missing of N15 million public funds.

The case which was said  to have been, during its initial stage in 2017, referred for Alternative Dispute Resolution, was however revived in what many have seen as a politically motivated move, after the 2023 general elections in which Ngene emerged victorious.

Ngene whose victory in 2023 was nullified by the Tribunal in September 2023, has been facing many judicial and political battles to reclaim his mandate.

Last Saturday’s exercise was the third in the series of court-ordered re-run with Ngene consistently emerging victorious, even now in jail .