demonstrated against what they tagged `irregularities' which marred
April 11, governorship and state assembly elections in Imo.
The demonstrators, mostly youths, and women blocked one lane of Okigwe
Road, Owerri, directly in front of PDP state secretariat, carrying
placards with various inscriptions.
Some placards read; Okorcha must go, INEC should allow the mandate of
Emeka Ihedioha, Imo People are tired of Okorocha's fraudulent system
and PDP is the winner of April 11 polls in Imo among others.
Spokesman of the group who gave his name as Livinus Njoku told
reporters that they were PDP supporters from various parts of Imo who
came to demonstrate against irregularities that characterized last
Saturday polls.
Njoku claimed that the result of the election being announced by the
INEC did not reflect the true results collated by parties that took
part in the exercise, adding "PDP's candidate Emeka Ihedioha won
Okorocha landslide.
"We institutionalized a mechanism to collate the results the way
people voted, but that did not conform to what INEC announced from
various Local Government Areas which made them declare the election
inconclusive'', he said.
Njoku said it was surprise that rather than INEC to allow the Imo
electorate to decide who governs them, its officials in the state
decided to abridge the process by not only changing the figures, but
as well declare the exercise inconclusive'', he said.
Njoku explained that the mission at the PDP office was to get go ahead
order from the leadership of PDP before they could demonstrate to INEC
state office and major streets in Owerri.
Chief Nnamdi Anyaehie, the state chairman of PDP who addressed the
aggrieved PDP supporters, regretted that APC supporters hijacked
ballot boxes and changed elections results from different locations in
Imo.
"We got series of reports where APC supporters snatched ballot boxes,
promoted violence and other sundry misconducts during the April 11
polls across Imo'', he said.
He called on the PDP supporters to be calm and act responsibly,
noting, "PDP had raised a formal protest to INEC on the Irregularities
that characterized the conduct of April 11 polls in the state.
"All I we are advising is that everybody should return to his or her
home since PDP had already protested to INEC and we hope something
will be done.
"As responsible citizens, we don't need to take laws into our hands,
we must allow the law to take its course'', he said.
Although Anyaehie said that his party was yet to take position on the
inconclusive declaration of Imo governorship result, he prayed that
the interlude would enable INEC to unraveled series of fraud
perpetrated by the APC.
When contacted on the allegation that INEC compromised, Mr Elias Osim,
Head Voter Education and Public Enlightenment, INEC, Owerri told our
reporter that the commission would address press conference on the
matter later in the week.
"For now, I do not have the mandate to speak on that issue, the
Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Gabriel Ada just left for Abuja
and will address a press conference as soon as he returnon
Wednesday'', Osim said.
Responding, Chief Iheukwumere Alaribe, the Director General of Rochas
Okorocha Campaign Organisation, dismissed the claim by PDP that INEC
and APC manipulated the election results.
"What PDP is doing is a mere pretentious claim; they are actually the
party that promoted fraud during the electionson Saturday.
"In Mbaise, for example, PDP governorship candidate did not score up
to 200, 000 votes, but they engaged men from Aguleri who wore red
uniforms to intimidate and harass people during the elections'', he
said.
Although Alaribe did not explain what later changed the results in the
favour of APC, he maintained that it was PDP people that promoted
violence during the exercise.
--247ureports
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