Labour Party stakeholders in Abia State’s Obingwa Local Government Area have accused the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of portraying a negative image in order to maintain power.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had previously suspended the collation of results in local government after thugs stormed the center.
Similarly, there were reports of irregularities in the results of Saturday’s governorship and House of Assembly elections, which INEC has since decided to investigate.
In a joint statement, the Chairman of the Labour Party’s Obingwa West Stakeholders, Eric Egwuibe, and the Coordinator of the Labour Party’s Obingwa West Constituency, Maxwell Nwadike, praised INEC’s decision to review the results.
It also urged the electoral umpire to declare the party’s governorship candidate, Dr. Alex Otti, the winner of the election right away.
The statement read thus:
We note with dismay the desperation of the People’s Democratic Party ( PDP) in Abia State to perpetuate itself in power at all cost even when the people of Abia State have collectively rejected them and sent them packing in the Saturday, March 18, Governorship and House of Assembly elections.
Having failed everywhere in the State, the PDP has refused to give up on Obingwa LGA.
It will be recalled that one of us, Dr. George Chiedozie, the Labour Party Local Government Collation agent was brutally beaten by the PDP thugs at the collation centre at Mgboko, the Council’s headquarters Saturday night.
Most regrettable is the election results from the LGA that were highly doctored beyond the accredited number of voters in the local government.
Needless to say that the reports of this criminal incidences have since reached the INEC headquarters in Abuja which has also promised to review the results and do the right thing.
We welcome and commend INEC for this bold decision to correct the anomalies.
We believe that the review will filter the padded results and restore the correct figures.
While this goes, we strongly urge the electoral umpire to declare our governorship candidate, Dr. Alex Otti the winner of the election on the account of the wide margin of the winning votes so far announced with or without the Obingwa result.
There should be no further delays as this is already brewing tension and palpable fear in the State
We are also appalled by the PDP’s call in the State to INEC to accept the doctored result.
This clearly shows that the PDP has bared its fangs of desperation.
Obingwa is one of the 774 Local Government Areas in the country where the elections held on Saturday but it has been in the news for the wrong reasons. We regret the bad image the PDP has brought to Obingwa and urge INEC not to succumb to their mischief.