By Ifeanyi Iheakanwa, Owerri
Owerri, April 7, (Newshour.com.ng) – A group, Orlu Political Action Committee (OPAC), has accused the INEC National Commissioner, Kenneth Ukeagu, of planning to schedule a secret rerun for the Isu state constituency seat to favour of the APC candidate.
The group is said to be the apex political leadership in the twelve Local Government Areas of Orlu Zone, demanded that Kenneth Ukeagu, be arrested and prosecuted without further delay.
In a release signed by the Publicity Secretary of the group, Barr. Nnamdi Maduka, on Friday, April 7, 2023, it said that any attempt to schedule a rerun in Isu will be an open invitation to anarchy.
According to the release, “Orlu Political Action Committee, has observed with total disapproval the plot by the APC-led administration in Imo State and some corrupt officials within the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to schedule rerun election in some polling units in Isu LGA, so as to upturn the victory of the actual winner of the March 18 House of Assembly election in Imo state.
“Our position on the Isu election is very simple and clear. Of the 123 polling units in Isu LGA, 122 results have been transmitted to the iREV, which is about 99.19% of the total results. The only result which was not transmitted came from Ekwe ward I, booth 16,where APC thugshad made away with the BVAS. From our findings, the result had been at the INEC office, Owerri.
“In four other polling units that thugshired by APC disrupted the exercise, INECofficialsat all levels complied with the provisions of the law by signing the Forms EC 40 G and transmitted same. This means that the scores from the four polling units have become zero, and nothing like rerun would be scheduled in the four affected polling units.
“Therefore, results from the eleven wards in Isu LGA, which everyone can see on the INEC portal, prove that the PDP candidate, Hon. Modestus Osakwe, has scored the highest number of votes, which is 5,551 and won in six wards to defeat the APC candidate who got 4,954.
“It still baffles us why INEC ha refused to declare the result and announce Hon. Modestus Osakwe winner of the election.
“The partisanship of the electoral umpire and the latest plot by Kenneth Ukeagu, who is obviously in bed with the regime of Senator Hope Uzodinma, to stage a kangaroo supplementary exercise in Isu just to subvert the will of the people,is mist worrisome. OPAC cannot guarantee what will happen next if this not immediately addressed.”
Meanwhile, the grouphas called on the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Yakubu Mahmood, to defuse the tension brewing in the LGA by instructing his officials to immediately announce the result for Isu state constituency election in Imo state which, according to it, has been clearly won and lost.
In the same vein, it called on the Inspector General of Police and Director of the State Security Services to quickly apprehend and prosecute the Abia-born Kenneth Ukeagu, over his attempt to truncate democracy in Imo state by trying to set peaceful LGA, Isu on fire.
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