The Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Nyerere Anyim and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Dr. Alex Otti have called for a total cancellation of April 11 polls in Abia State.
Anyim and Otti who spoke to journalists at their Agburuike and Nvosi, Isiala Ngwa residents described the election across the 17 Local Government Areas in the state as a sham, citing cases of electoral irregularities: snatching of ballot boxes, using fake uniformed men among other electoral offences.
According to Otti, “There no was no election in Abia State. The Governor (T.A Orji) and PDP in collaboration with INEC officials went to various polling units and withdraw the original result sheet which they replaced with a fake one.
“We have information as I speak with you (journalists) that PDP are thumb printing ballot papers in the official residence of a top PDP member in the state.
“They are going around using thugs who wield machetes and fire arms, shooting sporadically in the air to harass and scare people away before snatching the ballot papers and result sheets. They are also doing this using fake uniformed men to cart away the election materials.
“It is the same situation in Umuahia, Aba North and South, Umuahia North and South, Ohafia, Umunneochi. In fact, there is no election in Abia State and I am calling on the chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega to cancel the election in the entire 17 Local Government Areas of the state because what we witnessed is a total sham and cannot in any way be described as an election. We have evidences and genuine reason to call for the cancelation of the poll”.
The APGA guber candidate however expressed the optimism that he would still defeat the ruling party in the state if the election was reconducted in a credible and transparent atmosphere.
Anyim while appraising the conduct of the polls said it was peaceful in his area and however regretted reported pockets of ballot snatching, intimidation of the opposition by the ruling party, stressing that the act of thuggery and ballot box stealing as was reported by their agents in the field shows the desperation of the ruling party.
According to him, “It was primitive. Nigeria is too big for such a thing to happen; where election materials were being stolen. It shows that they (PDP) have failed the state because if they did well, they wouldn’t have resorted to stealing of ballot boxes and other sensitive materials. It is a total shame and shows how they have failed in giving the people of the state, good governance. It shows that they have badly managed the state and that is why the people need change which APC is going to bring to the state when we come on board as a government that the people of the state is truly yearning for which the PDP has failed to achieve in the last 16years of their administration in the state.”
In a related development, Chief Victor Umeh, the National Chairman, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), has called for the cancellation of the Abia governorship and the state House of Assembly elections over alleged irregularities.Speaking with newsmen at Aguluzigbo in Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra after casting his vote on Saturday, Umeh described the entire exercise in Abia as a “sham”.
“From the reports so far gathered, there were no materials on ground and collation officers with result sheets could not be found.
“There are also reports of fake security personnel moving about in the state intimidating people.”
Also speaking, a chieftain of APGA and the Abia Central Senatorial candidate of the party in the just concluded National Assembly election, Chief Ahamdi Emmanuel Nweke, corroborating Dr. Otti’s position accused the ruling party of rigging the process and accused the PDP of causing mayhem all over the state.
According to Nweke, “the actions of the PDP and some corrupt INEC officials is a rape to democracy”.
