The Peoples Democratic Party, Imo State Chapter, has raised alarm over alleged plot by the Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma to smuggle already written results of the upcoming local government election to the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission ISIEC, to enable his party, the All Progressive Congress APC to fraudulently win in all the 27 local government areas, as was the case in the March, 18, 2023 House of Assembly election.
The PDP, in a press release signed by the Publicity Secretary, Lancelot Obiaku, said, “the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State is aware of an alleged criminal plot by Governor Hope Uzodimma and his co-election riggers to smuggle already written local government election results into the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC) ahead of the September 21, 2024, council polls.
Credible information available shows that Uzodimma, a notorious election rigger did not only compile names of his lackeys as candidates across the 27 LGAs but attached names of unqualified Vice Chairmen and Councilors on the agreement that after successfully rigging them in, they will continue to return the local government allocations to him to continue the misappropriation and embezzlement of Imo’s commonwealth.
Uzodimma’s move to disrupt the forthcoming local government poll by smuggling in names of people who neither purchased expression of interest and nomination forms nor participated in the screening and primary election of APC is strange to the Electoral Act and the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
Further information obtained revealed that Uzodimma is allegedly working in collaboration with the ISIEC Chairman, Charles Ejiogu, and other senior officials of the Commission to perfect the dubious deal.
Uzodimma is aware that Imo people do not believe in the credibility of APC to offer genuine dividends of democracy to them, hence the only way he could achieve the mortgaging of our local government areas is to resort to falsification of results, indiscriminate hijack of electoral materials, intimidation, harassment, abuse of people’s rights, vote buying and criminal inducement of electoral officers.
Recall that the ISIEC Chairman had earlier denied knowledge of any list of candidates when pressure on him was intense, but an insider source who confided in our party revealed that the ISIEC Chairman and his colleagues had accepted the list and assembled them for announcement after the LGA poll.
The Peoples Democratic Party, as a credible political platform, is urging the Commissioner of Police, Director of the State Security Service, other relevant security agencies, and Civil Society Organizations to immediately investigate this development and ensure that Uzodimma and the ISIEC Chairman did not throw Imo state into another round of political crisis, which he always benefited from.
However, the PDP in the state is urging its Chairmanship, Councillorship candidates, and members to remain calm and law-abiding, assuring that the party would do everything possible to stop such evil intention to deny them victory in the election”.
