As Controversy Trails Imo Assembly Poll Result

Amby Uneze examines the conduct and subsequent announcement of Imo State Assembly poll result held recently where the Independent National Electoral Commission declared APC as winner of all the 27 seats in the House.

The 2023 general election has come and gone but its outcome remains the talk on everyone’s lips. In every corner, the election has been described by various segments of the society as falling short of expectations.

The electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been accused of partiality. There were glaring evidences of where they assisted their preferred party to win elections, from the presidential to national assembly and finally to the States House of Assembly. The impunity is quite unacceptable.

In Imo State, the State House of Assembly election held on March 18, 2023 was nothing but a charade, where impunity, intimidation and day-light robbery of the will of the people was perfected.

It was quite unfair on the part of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Imo State, Prof. Slyvia Agu,  and the State Police Commissioner, Ahmed Barde, to allegedly manipulate the process of the election leading to the overall winning of the APC in the State.

Political watchers are very much aware how much the ruling party is rated in the State. According to the group, Imo Good Governance for Development (IGGoD), the last time we checked, APC could barely clinch three seats in the State House of Assembly. The reason is that the party is so unpopular for the wrong reasons, and could take an elephant to pass through the eye of the needle than for it to win a landslide victory of a 100 percent in the State Assembly election, in fact, in any election.

“This is another wonder of the world. However, it is very obvious that the brazen manipulation, rigging, and the audacity of connivance between the State government, INEC and the Police to rob the people of the State their Constitutional right to choose their representative was so alarming. In this twenty-first century that a political party that is low-rated based on the hardship its leaders have brought to the people would win a 100 percent election.

“This goes to show that those who had perpetuated this criminal art were not smart; otherwise they would not have claimed winning the whole 27 seats in the State Assembly leaving none to other political parties. Who will believe this?

“The actual result of the House of Assembly election of March 18, no doubt has not been released by INEC. INEC should make fast and tell Imo people what happened to the original results they voted in that election, and not this shameful abracadabra they are parading as result?”

It is gratifying that INEC BVAS was active during the March 18 State Assembly election and going by the uploaded results through www.inecelectionresults.ng, what INEC declared was in complete variance with the uploaded figures by BVAS.

For instance, in Isu local government, the total result as uploaded in the INEC BVAS showed that APC scored 4,954 while PDP scored 5,551 votes, indicating that PDP won in the LGA.

In Ideato South local government, INEC Server indicated that Accord Party (AP) scored the highest vote of 3,970 with APC coming second with 3,028 votes. Also, in Ideato North local government, the PDP scored 5,063 votes as against the APC of 4,097 votes.

Outrageously, that of Owerri Municipal council as announced by the INEC returning officer showed that APC scored 79,043 votes, LP scored 12,765 votes, PDP scored 9, 674 votes. It goes to show that in Owerri Municipal council, BVAS was not used to conduct the election; hence the overall manipulated curious result. This needs to be investigated.

Watching a woman who claimed to be a returning officer for Owerri Municipal Council in a social media being sandwiched by angry-looking APC faithful speaks volume of a rigged result.

There was no other party agents in that centre except the APC members. The lady claimed she was declaring final result of the Assembly election in the dark standing with no space to breed fresh air amid fierce-looking persons led by the State Chairman of APC, Macdonald Ebere, flashing torch light to aid the lady pronounce results indeed expressed desperation.

Again, another ward Collation Officer who served in Obowo local government council who didn’t want his name to be mentioned disclosed that if what he saw in the field of collation of result was anything to go by, then there was no election into the state Assembly.

He stated that he was busy entering results, when suddenly another result from nowhere was presented to him and the LGA Electoral Officer in company of the police forced the ‘manufactured result’ on him to enter into the original result sheet. He complained that prior to the arrival of the ‘manufactured result’; APC candidate had already lost the local government.

In a press conference addressed by the state publicity secretary of PDP, Collins Opuruozor, claimed that “by the time voting ended on Saturday and over 80 percent of the results declared at the polling units, it had become clear that PDP won landslide in majority of the 27 constituencies of the State.

“Then, the APC regime of Senator Hope Uzodinma returned with the only option which they know how to do, namely the use of state violence to abduct INEC officials, cart away election materials, falsify results and impose their lackeys on Imo people as winners. This administration of Senator Uzodinma which foundation is rooted in  usurpation of popular mandate and debasing of democratic institutions and values has finally set Imo State on fire!

“At about 9pm in Isu LGA on Saturday, when collation was done by over 90% and PDP had convincingly won the election, well-known APC leaders came in a convoy of over 50 vehicles, two armoured personnel carriers conveying armed military men, police, Ebubeagu militiamen and thugs. They began to shoot heavily, directly attacking PDP leaders and agents, and in the process Chief Magnus Uzoma, who is the Chairman of Isu LGA Campaign Council of our Party was shot and left badly injured in a pool of blood.

“Mr. Charles Osakwe, PDP Collation Agent in the LGA, was also beaten to pulp with guns and machetes and left half dead by APC-backed militiamen. Two PDP youths, Mr. Chigozie Izunwanne and Comrade Chinonso Onwezi, were also attacked and brutalized by  APC militiamen, and it is still miraculous that they are alive today. In this way, APC hijacked the results and falsified them just to upturn our victory.

 “In Onuimo LGA, where PDP had also won landslide, the same thing was done. Appointees of Senator Hope Uzodinma stormed the collation center with armed thugs, soldiers, policemen and Ebubeagu militiamen, and unleashed mayhem on everyone present at the venue and rewrote the results to give undue victory to the APC.

“In Aboh Mbaise, where PDP also recorded landslide victory, APC leaders, top police officers, military personnel and Ebubeagu militiamen struck again at the middle of the night and took away the INEC officials with election materials to Owerri where they rewrote the results for the APC.

“In Ideato North, Ihitte Uboma, Oguta, Ohaji-Egbema, Owerri West, Isiala Mbano, Nwangele, Ehime Mbano, Nkwerre, Ezinihitte Mbaise and Njaba, the midnight raids also occurred and the electoral mandates freely given to PDP Candidates by their constituents were violently snatched away.

“For Orlu LGA, voting materials and INEC officials were not deployed to over 60 percent of the area. Instead, INEC delivered the materials to APC leaders, who congregated at the Orlu LGA Headquarters, and, aided by armed thugs, security agents and Ebubeagu militiamen, they thumb-printed the ballot papers and wrote results for the APC. This also happened in most parts of Orsu, Oru West, Oru East and Okigwe, where elections could not hold because of insecurity. However, in all the relatively safe places where elections held in these LGAs, PDP won convincingly,” he stated.

While it is quite unfortunate to experience this type of brigandage in the State for the sake of election, it however, becomes expedient to caution those who take laws into their hands to examine their conscience and come out with clean hands for the desired peace to reign in the once agitated State. The State actors should not always think that nothing can be done to challenge their actions that are not noble. Imolites know too well the strength of every political party and would shout when things go wrong as it has done with the last State Assembly election.