From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Southern Middle Belt and Northern Support Groups for Obi (SMBNSG4O), Dr. Alex Obiechina, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of being unfair to Labour Party for delaying to announce the winner of governorship election in Abia and Enugu States.
Obiechina, in a statement, claimed that while various surveys continued to predict that the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, would win the presidential election, desperate politicians and entrenched vested interest decided to use the poll numbers to ambush the outcome of the presidential election.
“So, when it came to the governorship and State Assembly polls, INEC connived with political wheeler dealers to shift the election date so as to provide the opportunity for them to perfect rigging and vote buying.
“Within the time frame, some fraudulent electoral officials went to bed with desperate politicians to abort the will of Nigerians.
“These evil machinations against democracy have come into full display in Abia and Enugu States, where the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which is faced with eminent defeat, decided to hijack the electoral officers in Obingwa and Nkanu East Local Government Councils to inflate votes with reckless abandon.
“The situation in Nkanu East is very pathetic, because it leaves the traces of electoral brigandage, impunity and political banditry.
“PDP leaders commandeered electoral officers to the headquarters of Nkanu East and rewarded the party with humongous votes in excess of the number of registered voters.
“Like highway men, PDP engaged in the most brazen rape of democratic process in a desperate bid to outscore Labour Party and its gubernatorial candidate, Hon Chijioke Edeoga and cancel off the impressive lead being posted by the Labour Party candidate over PDP candidate in many other local government Areas in Enugu State.”
While urging INEC to salvage its sagging reputation, Obiechina said by PDP’s childish manipulations, the party failed to note that the total votes of about 30,000 which it awarded to itself was far more than the total number of registered voters in Nkanu East LGA.
He enjoined INEC to allow the BVAS to guide it the same way that VAR assists referees to decided on controversial actions during football matches, adding that the total number of voters captured and accredited by BVAS in the contentious LGAs should be upheld.
“The law, particularly the Electoral Act 20222, is clear even to the illiterate that once the total votes cast is more than that of voters captured by BVAS during accreditation, the result of that area stands cancelled and a winner declared based on other results without delay.
“Although some commentators have blamed pressures and inducement, we are compelled to say that the conduct of the Chief Returning Officer in Enugu State, leaves much to be desired. It is strange; and in fact a disgrace to the academia and professorship.
“Borrowing the logic of a dear friend on this: does it mean that when the professor is marking his students’ scripts in an examination and a student answers a question wrongly, he would rather refer the situation to the University Senate for guide?” he declared.
Obiechina enjoined INEC officials at the commission’s headquarters to use the two cases, especially that of Enugu to prove to Nigerians that it not only independent, but also impartial, stressing that the electoral umpire should do the needful by declaring LP and Hon Edeoga the Governor Elect of Enugu State.
He maintained that by so doing INEC would have avoided unnecessary bloodshed in Enugu State as people have become very restless and their anger palpable such that any unnecessary delay or contrary outcome may trigger discontent among the youth crises that both the security forces and the peace loving people of the state may not control.