By Afam Ilounoh
There has been a laughable statement on the internet discussion groups on Tuesday, alleging that the Labour Party have printed ballot papers and election result sheets/materials in South Africa to rig and falsify results.
The statement from an unknown source, which claimed that “reliable information reaching us” indicates that a rigging was being planned, failed to mention the organization the “us” referred to. It failed to do so simply because there was no credible group behind the statement. And to make its matters worse, and to prove that some ill-educated mischief-maker was behind the toxic-waste statement, it appealed to Ndi-Anmabra and security agencies to be “VIGILANTE” and to stop this “DESPARATION” a word unknown to the English language, at least by year 2013.
To complete the facelessness of that obnoxious murderer of the English language it was uploaded onto the internet by tiger’stail@yahoo.com.
As the non-story claimed that the allegedly rogue voting materials from South Africa would come into Nigeria and Anambra state on Wednesday, Dr. Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah is begging the person or group to go to the Police with the information he claims to have – or may he and his sponsors forever hide their head in shame.
The statement continued: “I hereby reiterate the call I have often made; that Anambrarians should not only come out en mass to exercise their civic rights by voting on election day, but they should also monitor and guard their votes to ensure that only the candidate they have chosen will be declared the winner. Anything short of this should be rejected. I also hereby call on the Independent Electoral Commission and its officials to ensure that the Anambra gubernatorial election is free and fair. Furthermore, I call on President Jonathan to do all in his power to see that the Anambra election does not bring any reproach to his good name by marring his shiny record election in the various state elections that have been conducted since his administration incepted. And to whoever hired such an incompetent, inept and bumbling writer to advance his course by opposing mine, I express my heart-felt pity; it shows how deep into the gutter his campaign has fallen.
I have no reason to rig the election and my opponents know it. Should I be afraid of Willie Boy Obiano, who could not name three agricultural products from Anambra state during a televised debate in Awka, or his APGA party, whose present administration of Gov. Peter Obi has refused to pay Anambra workers the minimum wage? Or should I fear Senator Chris Ngige who also announced at a Channels TV Town Hall meeting with the voters that his constituency projects were “V.I.P Toilets”? Or Tony Nwoye, who started his campaign just “yesterday” and does not stand a chance at all as he remains unknown?
Those who hate rigging should really watch the known riggers such as Ngige whose rigged election victory was shot down by the courts. Many have called for his trial for that. Also, talks have been on that Gov. Peter Obi and his APGA party actually rigged the last election. Such rigging should not be allowed to take place come Saturday. Every vote case that day must be allowed to count”, Ubah concluded.
