The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Enugu State, on Tuesday, urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately release results of the March 18 Enugu State Governorship Poll.

On behalf of the apex political group in Enugu, the Chairman of IPAC in the state, Chief Edwin Alor, told newsmen that INEC had no powers under the law to review collated results.

It would be recalled that INEC on Monday, March 20, suspended further collation of results in the two local government areas of the state – Nkanu East and Nsukka – over allegations of over voting and other electoral malpractices.

Alor urged the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Enugu State and the State Returning Officer to, as a matter of urgency, announce the result of the election without delay and declare the winner with immediate effect.

He said that any action short of the declaration will be outside the law and could bring anarchy to an already fragile situation.

He said: “We note that the results of the 17 Local Government Areas (LGAs), including those of Nkanu East and Nsukka LGAs, were all collated by the Returning Officer on March 19, 2023.

“By the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, the only other duty remaining for the State Returning Officer, who is acting on INEC’s behalf, is to add up the figures, announce them, and declare the winner in line with Section 64 (8) of the Electoral Act 2022.

“We state that the cancellation of an already made return by a Returning Officer can only be made if the Returning Officer made the return under duress and such a complaint must come from the officer in question. These clearly do not apply to the Enugu situation.

“But the law in Section 130(1) of the Electoral Act is also mindful to make provisions for the adjudication of any complaint against a return made by the Returning Officer”.

Alor said that INEC collation centre is not an Election Tribunal or the law court where redress is sought, adding that the INEC State Collation Center is to accept results as they come, collate and announce them, and ultimately declare the winner.

According to him, “it is our strong view that the INEC Returning Officer has discharged his statutory responsibility by collating the results of all the 17 local government areas, including those of Nkanu East and Nsukka Local Government Areas.

He said that the remaining responsibility for the State Returning Officer is to announce results and declare the winner, noting that INEC cannot be a judge in its own case, if any.