The news that the name of Chief Wilie Obiano appears twice in the
voter register of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
Voter Register is a sad commentary on the quality of candidature that
the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) has thrown into the rings in
a contest involving men who should ordinarily live another board.
We hereby demand the apprehension of Chief Willie Obiano for this
criminal offence and full-scale investigations into charges by INEC
and all security agencies, with a view to applying the full weight of
the Electoral Law as spelt out in Section 12, Subsection 2 and 3 of
the Electoral Act 2010, as amended.
The cited sections read as follows:
(2) No person shall register in more than one registration centre or
register more than once in the same registration centre.
(3) Any person who contravenes the provisions of subsection (2) of
this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine
not exceeding N100,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one
year or both.
It is extremely worrisome that at a time when we thought that
standards and moral standing of men and women who offer themselves to
serve in public office have risen for good, the nation is faced with
an embarrassing situation where a candidate who wishes to lead a state
as complex and dynamic as Anambra State has turned out to be a common
criminal.
We are convinced that if APGA, a wing of PDP, as presently constituted
had broad-based structures covering at least the entire South East
Nigeria, and was properly run as a political party, instead of a
closet store, the latest incident would have come to light before the
primaries.
Beyond the criminal nature of this sad occurrence, it is also
noteworthy that one of the six candidates who were disqualified before
the stage-managed primaries in which an Obiano was handpicked by his
business partner was supposedly axed for not being in possession of an
INEC voter’s card.
Once again we, demand on behalf of Anambra State voters and the nation
a thorough and professional and speedy investigation to  into the
APGA candidate’s double registration saga.
Okelo Madukaife
For: All Progressive Congress (APC)
Interim State Publicity Secretary
