Trending 
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Olaka Nwogu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner of the Rivers South-East Senatorial District bye-election conducted on Saturday.
INEC Returning Officer for the poll, Professor Rosemary Ogu, announced the result at the senatorial collation centre located at the Khana Local Government Council Secretariat in Bori, Rivers State, late Saturday night.
According to her declaration, Nwogu secured a total of 46,961 votes to defeat his closest rival, Osarokaka Ebenezer Erewari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 1,647 votes. The Action Alliance (AA) candidate, Douglass Fabeke, received 1,175 votes, while the Labour Party candidate, Sam Kinani, scored 367 votes.
Ogu stated that the PDP candidate had met all legal requirements and was duly returned elected.
“The election was contested and the candidates received the following votes: Douglass Fabeke of the AA got 1,175 votes; Osarokaka Ebenezer Erewari of the APC got 1,647 votes; Sam Kinani of the LP got 367 votes; and Nwogu Olaka Johnson of the PDP got 47,961 votes,” she said.
She added that, “Nwogu Olaka Johnson of the PDP, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected.”
The bye-election was conducted across seven local government areas in the senatorial district: Khana, Gokana, Tai, Eleme, Andoni, Oyigbo, and Opobo–Nkoro. The poll followed the death of the former senator representing the district, Barry Mpigi, who passed away in February.
Meanwhile, INEC has said it is taking steps to address technical challenges recorded during the exercise, particularly issues linked to the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
Speaking during an inspection tour of some polling units alongside INEC National Commissioner for the South-South, May Agbamuche-Mbu, the Head of Voter Education in Rivers State, Geraldine Ekelemo, said backup systems were deployed to manage disruptions.
“INEC was proactive. The technical hitches we saw in one or two polling units were quickly addressed. Backup BVAS machines were supplied to each LGA, and technical staff were on ground to reconfigure malfunctioning devices,” she said.
Ekelemo added that every local government area involved in the election had additional BVAS units to ensure continuity of the accreditation process and reduce downtime.
