The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has rejected the results announced by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Anambra State stating that electoral process was manipulated at the collation stage by the People Democratic Party in the Area.
In a press conference held on Tuesday by the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism Chief Tony Onyima, along with the media aides of Governor Willie Obiano on behalf of APGA, the party condemned the manner the election was conducted saying the voting exercise was “brazenly violated and voting results manipulated at the collation stages of the electoral process by anti-democratic forces, most disturbingly by elements of Igbo extraction in the PDP who felt encouraged by their so-called links to Abuja”.
The party lamented that “anti-democratic elements, who are also notable figures of the PDP were directly involved in manipulating the electoral process in key areas of the state, kidnapping INEC officials, hijacking the results from polling stations and re-writing the actual figures in favour of PDP candidates’.
It said a point is an incident in Ihiala local government area where “an attempt to stop some PDP elements from altering the results of the voting exercise led to the death of two Nigerians- a police man and an innocent citizen.
“What is instructive in this incident is that citizen Ifeanyi Ubah, chairman of TAN, accompanied by Olisa Metuh, PDP National Publicity Secretary were allegedly physically present at the scene of the incident”.
The party further cited another case in Idemili North local government area contending that it has already lodged a formal protest to the INEC “where an invading mob led by a Federal Minister brazenly thwarted the will of the people by altering the results of the votes cast in the entire council area in favour of his junior brother, the PDP candidate, against what were recorded in the various polling booths”.
On his part, The APGA senatorial candidate for Anambra Central and the National Chairman of the party Chief Victor Umeh chided PDP for being indolent to the extent of repeating a rigging trick it used 12 years ago and worse still, spear-headed by the very victim of that rigging style, Mr. Peter Obi.
Umeh who said he is heading to the election [petition tribunal said he has all the polling unit election results, otherwise known as Forms EC8A1with which to argue his case and reclaim his victory.
According to him, he, and the three House of Representatives candidates in the Senatorial district, namely: Chief Godson Ezenagu, Mr. Ferdinand Dozie Nwankwo and Ifeanyi Ibezi all won their election according to the Forms EC8A1 in his possession.
Similarly, the State Leader of Progressive People’s Alliance (PPA) Mr Godwin Ezeemo has called for option A4 in future elections in the country to avert the sharp practices in electoral process and make peoples voice to be heard.
Ezeemo said the party rejected the result announced by INEC in the area and has called for total cancellation as the party would be left without any other option than to challenge the election in the law court.
Also All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State has called INEC to cancel the elections in the State where the card reader did not work saying that the card reader forms part of the accreditation process that some States should not enjoy to the exclusion of others.
In a briefing in Awka, the state publicity secretary Mr Okelo Madukaife said ”We also urge a proper independent investigation into the massive failures in the use of the card reader, even in Igbo Ukwu Ward 1, where, being the pilot ward for test-running the reader in Anambra State on March 7, 2015, the gadgets succeeded above 80 percent, irrespective e of the outcome of the elections.
“Specifically, we call on INEC to cancel the election held in Ogbaru Local Government which is also a federal constituency and hold a proper election in which ’Form EC 25 B ‘sighted by all polling agents at the point of arrival of INEC officials should list the results sheets (Form EC8A, EC8A1 and EC8A 2) should be sighted and matched with the physical presence of the result sheets.
To us this is a minimum condition for the acceptance of polling in that federal constituency and all others areas with similar occurrences.”
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