Labour Party Candidate for Okigwe North Federal Constituency, Chikwem Onuoha, has given the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) 48 hours to declare him the winner of the February 25 National Assembly election in Imo state.
INEC had declared Princess Marian Onuoha of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the election.
Addressing newsmen in Owerri on Wednesday, Onuoha, said that election did not hold in seven wards of 0kigwe where insecurity did not allow the people to vote.
According to Daily Trust he alleged that Princess Mariam Onuoha, in connivance with the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Sylvia Agu, to concoct and write results for the seven wards in Okigwe where elections did not hold.
He said, “As you all know that Okigwe LGA, one of the LGAs that made up our Federal Constituency, has been in the news in recent times for insecurity, no thanks to steady activities of unknown gunmen.
“This recent ugly development in the LGA was captured in the police security report to INEC on February 20, 2023 and was duly acknowledged by the commission. In the said report, the police advised the commission not to have elections hold in the six out of the 11 wards in the LGA namely: Ihube, Umuawaebu, Agbuobu, Ụmụlolo, Akụ and and Amuro.
Validating the intelligence of the police, in Ogii ward of the LGA where election was supposed to be held, INEC officers met no one at the polling units as residents were still living in fears. The addition of Ogii makes it seven out of 11 wards that elections were not conducted in the LGA.
“For record purposes, the other four wards where election was witnessed were: Urban ward 1&2, Ezinachi and Umualumuoke wards.
Shockingly, Princess Miriam Onuoha of the APC manufactured results from the wards election never held and allocated votes to political parties and ridiculously gave herself over thirty thousand (30,000) votes and connived with some corrupt elements in INEC to declare her winner.
This fraud from Princess Miriam and her cohorts is not legally offensive but morally nauseating.
He said the people have lost confidence in the REC to conduct the remaining election in the state and urged the commission to remove her as the resident electoral commission.
He added, “How did someone who lost her ward to me score over 30,000+ votes in an LGA that rarely gives candidates 10,000 votes cumulatively since 1999? Moreso , when seven of the wards of the LGA witnessed no election as confirmed by INEC and residents of the areas. Even the joint votes for senatorial candidates of the three major political parties in Imo North, made of six LGAs wasn’t up to 30,000 votes.
“This is unacceptable and in the light of it we therefore make the following prayers:
“INEC to collate results from the four wards election held in Okigwe LGA only, add the scores from declared results in Onuimo and Isiala-Mbano LGAs as they are the only valid and legal results.
“INEC to reject the fake result that was manufactured from where election never held for known security and logistics reasons, and if already admitted, expunge it without further delay.
“INEC to declare me the winner of the election with the lawful votes already collated as member-elect.
“Going by the election guideline, any declaration wrongly made shall be reviewed within seven days. In this regard, we urge INEC to review the erroneous declaration made on February 27, 2023 and declare me, Hon Chikwem Onuoha, as the duly elected candidate in the just concluded Okigwe North Federal Constituency election.
“INEC must undo the error and comply with our request within the next 48 hours to avoid a stable situation from going out of control.
‘The National chairman of INEC to call the commission’s REC in Imo State in order to save our democracy and restore the integrity of the commission.
“INEC and the law enforcement agencies to arrest, investigate and persecute those involved in this unprecedented fraud and criminality to serve as deterrent to other violators.
“The Electoral Officer(EO) of Okigwe LGA, Mr Ụzọ Chikwendu, should be arrested, interrogated and made to face the law for aiding and abetting criminality by conniving with the manipulators to mislead the commission to accepting the fake results,” he added
