The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ebonyi State has rejected the outcome of the Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections.
It also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cancel the results.
Eze
Nwachukwu made the party’s position known at a post-election press
conference held at the party’s secretariat on Tuesday in Abakaliki.
Mr
Nwachukwu alleged widespread irregularities including underaged voting,
multiple thumb printing of ballot papers, intimidation, harassment, the
arrest of APC polling units agents as well as orchestrated violence
against party members and supporters.
He alleged that Smart Card
Readers (SCR) were not used for accreditation and voting in line with
the election guidelines in most polling centres.
“Our position is
that the election of Saturday, February 23 is rape on our democracy.
Ebonyians witnessed what has never been seen in any election before now.
“Security
operatives who were sent to provide election security in the state, on
arrival took sides by allowing themselves to be accommodated in a
private hotel.
“All the police personnel except the Adamawa
commissioner of Police were lodged in this hotel, and this was where the
compromise started.
“We had informed the police, INEC and Civil
Society groups before the elections through our petitions of plots by
some persons to buy votes and to create violence in parts of the state
and this played out in the election.
“There is no local
government area in Ebonyi that the election was not marred by violence;
and the violence was in degrees including ballot boxes snatching,
burning of buildings, election materials and killings among others.
“The
card reader was not used for the election in several polling units, and
we are calling for an audit of the elections in addition to our call
for the outright cancellation of the entire exercise.
“Let the
card readers be made available and let the result sheets be marched
polling unit by polling unit, it is an exercise that can be achieved in a
day,” Nwachukwu said.
He alleged that the senatorial and House
of Representatives elections results for Ebonyi Central and Ezza South
and Ikwo Federal constituency collation was moved to INEC state
headquarters against the provision of the electoral law.
“We
reject the results of the entire elections due to non-substantial
compliance with the INEC guideline and electorate law and vote buying,
intimidation of party agents and widespread violence.
“We call on
Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, INEC’s chairman to remove Prof. Godswill Obioma,
the Ebonyi Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for incompetence and
compromise.
“We also call on all our supporters to remain calm and law-abiding.”
Meanwhile,
Lovett Odah, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), reacting to
the allegation said that the command had not received a report of
involvement of its personnel deployed for election duty in malpractices.
Meanwhile,
Mr Obioma could not be reached for comments as he travelled to Abuja
with the state presidential election returning officer, Frank
Chukwuemeka, to submit Ebonyi result.state party agents of APC, PDP and
others signed the final presidential result sheet at the state collation
centre, INEC headquarters in Abakaliki on February 25.
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