The reported arrival in person this morning at INEC Headquarters , by Gov Willie Obiano of Anambra State and Chief Victor Umeh, aspirant to an election just ahead in Anambra Central Constituency and the departure in their car with two senior officials of the commission to an unknown destination is suspicious and ominous.
It is not standard practice for top officials of an electoral body to be meeting with leaders and prospective candidates of one political party to be meeting with INEC officials when the other political parties are not there.
But if the meeting involves these officials arriving the headquarters of INEC to take away the officials to an unknown destination, for an unknown discussion and for an unknown purpose. It is enough grounds to be concerned.
We urge a n immediate explanation by the Chairman of INEC and what his officials are doing with Umeh and Obiano alone, 52 days into the 90 days within which the Court f Appeal directed that repeat elections be conducted in Anambra Central particularly when no date has been announced by INEC for the elections.
We also expect Gov Willie Obiano and Chief Victor Umeh to explain to the world why it became their duty to open the gates of INEC this morning and move to an unknown destination with top officials involved with sensitive aspects of election duty. This explanation should come before they leave Abuja.
We urge further vigilance on the part of Nigerians who spotted these movements with clear evidence and continue in focused pursuit of free and fair elections in Nigeria, particularly the South East part of Nigeria which has not enjoyed such virtue in the past.
We seize this opportunity to request INEC to ,as a matter of urgency, announce the date of Anambra Central Senatorial Elections and release all necessary guidelines for the exercise, to avoid speculations.
For: ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS (APC)
Okelo Madukaife
State Publicity Secretary
