By Joshua Chibuzo Andrew, Owerri
Members of the opposition political parties in Imo State have called for the cancellation of the Imo State House Of Assembly elections held on Saturday.
According to the results officially declared by the independent National Electoral Commission were won by the 27 candidates of the All Progressives Congress.
The result is said to have left Imo electorates and political parties in “Agony”, including the PDP chieftain and former Deputy Speaker of house of representatives, Honourable Emeka Ihedioha, the PDP National Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu lost their state constituency seat to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The opposition Parties while calling the process a sham, alleged that the APC collaborated with security agents and INEC to rig the elections.
In a statement issued by the Labour Party chairman in the state, Festus Onyekwulisi, claimed that his party won the elections but APC in connivance with other state and federal actors rewrote the results.
In a related development, the spokesperson for the PDP in the state, Collins Opurozor, revealed that the party’s agents were beaten and arrested collation centres.
The statement read; ”The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State alerts Nigerians that INEC officials posted to Aboh Mbaise LGA of the State for yesterday’s House of Assembly elections have been abducted by agents of Imo APC and taken to a location in Owerri, ostensibly Douglas House, where they are currently rewriting the results already won by PDP to favour the failed APC.
“From the results declared at the various polling units in Aboh Mbaise, transmitted to iREV Portal and sent in by our agents, PDP overwhelmingly won the House of Assembly seat in the area with over ninety percent of total votes cast.
“However, as final collation was being awaited at the Collation Center, armed thugs, security agents and Ebubeagu militiamen led by APC stalwarts stormed the venue at the middle of the night, attacked our Party agents and took away the INEC officials with election materials.
“This madness exactly how Senator Hope Uzodinma wants his Party to win Aboh Mbaise. It is also what he is presently doing in the other LGAs of the State.
“It is important to note that this travesty would have been averted if the INEC Electoral Officer in Aboh Mbaise had remained incorruptible and allowed the process to be freely concluded before dusk, since all the polling units results were ready earlier than 4pm. Instead, in order to act a wicked script handed down by the regime of Senator Hope Uzodinma, INEC officials willfully delayed the process till it came to this messy point.
“Imo PDP, therefore, warns that any attempt to upturn the Party’s victory in Aboh Mbaise will be vehemently resisted.
“Our Party calls on INEC to immediately announce the PDP candidate, Ezinwa Pincewill Ugochukwu Amuchie, winner of the Aboh Mbaise State Constituency election in line with the majority votes of the constituents.”
Meanwhile, former Deputy Speaker of Imo State House Of Assembly, Rt. Honourable Okey Onyekamma who is the candidate of the PDP for Mbaitoli State constituency seat have expressed dissatisfaction over the outcome of the election in Mbaitoli.
Onyekamma in a statement signed by his media assistant, Justice Chukwunatu Nwafor
Said that he will challenge the outcome of the election in the court.
Opinion moulders in the state have claimed that the outcome of the assembly elections in Imo, where the ruling APC won all twenty seven seats shows that the state is indirectly running one party system. Which according to them, may cause more harm than good to the position of democracy in the society.
