TheCable

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo says Modestus Osakwe, candidate for Isu state constituency, won the March 18 election house of assembly election.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Collins Opuruzor, the party’s publicity secretary, asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare Osakwe as the winner of the poll.

Opuruzor said results uploaded to the INEC viewing portal showed that Osakwe won the majority votes.

“Nigerians should know that out of the 123 polling units in Isu LGA, 122 results have been successfully uploaded on the INEC iREV, representing 99.19% of the total results. The only result which was not transmitted came from Ekwe ward 1, booth 16 — where APC thugs had made away with BVAS. Nevertheless, the results have been ready with us and available at the INEC office, Owerri,” he said.

“In four other polling units where elections were disrupted by the thugs because of imminent loss of APC, the INEC forms EC 40 G were duly signed by the POs and SPOs and the EO. In keeping with the provisions of the electoral act and INEC guidelines, the possibility of a rerun in those areas has been effectively foreclosed. This position has also been publicly affirmed by INEC.

“Gentlemen of the press, the total results from the 11 wards of Isu LGA now fully published on the INEC result viewing portal shows that our candidate, honourable Modestus Osakwe, polled a total of 5,551 and won in six electoral wards to defeat the APC candidate who scored 4,954 votes. You can quickly visit the iREV to confirm this.

“It becomes very unacceptable that INEC in Imo state has refused to announce the result and declare our candidate winner of that election.”

Opuruzor said rather than declare the PDP candidate winner of the poll, INEC officials allegedly chose to “yield to the whims and caprices” of politicians in the ruling party to “sit on the victory of our party in the bid to devise ways to finally upturn it”.

“Our party is by this press conference, informing all Nigerians that both the INEC returning officer and some other officials involved in the Isu state constituency election have severally been invited, harassed, and intimidated by the police in compelling them to upturn the results to favour the candidate of APC. This is how regrettably partisan the police have become,” he said.

“Our party, therefore, calls on the INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, to order the immediate declaration of the result for the Isu state constituency election in Imo state which was won by our candidate, Modestus Osakwe.”

The party asked the electoral umpire to probe its officials in Imo who are allegedly involved in “electoral fraud”.

The opposition party also asked Usman Baba, inspector-general of police, to “beam his searchlights” on the Imo state command to “weed out corrupt elements who have become willing tools for the enforcement of electoral crimes“.