DEPUTY Speaker of the House of Representatives and Imo State gubernatorial candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Emeka Ihedioha, has expressed serious reservation that despite instances of identified electoral malpractices, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, went ahead to declare the All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate as the winner.
Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha
Ihedioha stated this, yesterday, while reacting to the declaration of Chief Rochas Okorocha as winner of the governorship poll in the state. He said he was not happy that INEC released the result, in spite of instances of identified electoral malpractices, including the arrest of over 25 Imo State INEC staff who conspired with the opposition to manipulate and change results of the elections already declared in favour of the PDP.
Ihedioha expressed anger at the manner the electoral umpire treated the public confession of an INEC Returning Officer who was forced under gunpoint to declare false results in favour of the APC in the gubernatorial election. He recalled that INEC went ahead with the release of the result, despite several arrests of fully armed men impersonating police officers and recorded inducement of INEC staff at Government House, Owerri, on the eve of the election as captured in photographs, audio and video recordings by local and international observers.
While recalling that in spite of proven widespread incidents of swapping of PDP votes in fabour of APC, all of which eroded the validity and credibility of the exercise, INEC had gone ahead to declare the APC candidate winner, he said: “As a democrat and law abiding citizen, I wish to acknowledge the declaration of the results by INEC.” Ihedioha said he would study the details of the results announced very carefully and communicate his position in the near future. He urged Imo people to maintain the peace and keep the dream of rebuilding the state alive.
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