11 March 2019
An old quote that has been incorrectly attributed to Joseph Stalin has been given a new lease of life in Nigeria: ‘Those who vote decide nothing. Those who count the vote decide everything.’
Chidi Nwanyanwu, the African Action Congress (AAC) candidate for Enugu State governor, allegedly told a friend that he voted for himself in Saturday’s (s)election and the official results ended up showing he had no votes from his polling station. Incumbent governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is expected to “win” with a landslide.
Something similar reportedly happened to the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for a House of Representatives seat in Benue State.
We have always advocated at Naijiant.com that official results in Nigerian (s)elections should be treated with extreme caution. As Arthur Nzeribe allegedly told his opponent in a senatorial (s)election: “You can beat me in the voting, but you can’t beat me in the counting”.
