Anambra South Senate Seat: Senator Andy Uba's MEN PRESSURE INEC TO COVER TRACK?

Reports have emerged from very credible sources that Anambra INEC's

connivance with Sen. Andy Uba and the People's Democratic Party (PDP) which led to APGA's shortchange in the last Anambra south senatorial race may have ran into a cul-de-sac with the renowned Senator's henchman in Orumba North now pressuring key operatives of the Commission in Awka to do the untoward in their bid to cover glaring and damaging lapses committed in the process and which they suspect will be inimical to their defense at the tribunal.

According to inside sources at the Commission's secretariat in Awka, the Senator, following revelations that INEC might have bungled the foundation on which his phoney victory can be sustained when the fireworks commences at the tribunal, now wants INEC to disown the CTCs' it had already issued to the APGA candidate with respect to the result declared and in their stead, rewrite afresh, all results relating to the poll for five of the seven councils where he originally lost woefully.

It will be recalled that investigations of CTCs issued by INEC have so far proved self contradictory while very poor attempts were made in rewriting results originally captured on forms EC 8A(1) alternatively on voting point (VP) result sheets after duplicate originals have been issued to agents of contending parties at the polling units.

The PDP henchman fronting for Sen. Uba is said to be piqued by the fact that the sitting Senator was beaten even in his local government, Orumba North where he served as coordinator during the electioneering campaign.

He has also been reliably fingered as the brain behind the attacks meted on APGA party agents at the Orumba North INEC office during which many chieftains of the party were assaulted and attempts made to dispossess them of copies of forms EC 8A (1) duplicate originals already issued to them at the polling units.

The source however would not confirm nor deny whether any agreement has been reached but maintained that not many operatives at the Commission's Awka office want to be involved in this latest plot as they believe it could spell trouble for partakers, especially now that PDP will not be in control at the centre when tribunal matters will be at peak.

Senator Uba is said not to be relenting in his pressure now that it has become crystal clear that INEC messed up big time in cooking the results that has temporarily made it possible for him to be returned as winner but which has no chances of surviving legal scrutiny at the tribunal.

His rival, the former NCC executive vice chairman, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe who is generally believed to have clearly won the election has approached the presidential and national assembly election petitions tribunal sitting in Awka last week seeking to be declared winner having, according to his petition, polled the highest number of lawful votes in the said election based on boot-by-boot results generated and computed by agents of INEC and which are all in his possession.

His petition and those of Chief Victor Umeh, Dubem Obaze, Ifeanyi Ibezi and Ifeanyi Momah, amongst others, against their PDP counterparts are considered key petitions that might prove a kill joy for the PDP when the dust finally settles at the tribunal. For now, it's not uhuru yet for any of the parties as nothing is certain.

Keen observers have also predicted that heads may roll in Anambra INEC by the time the brazen manipulations shamelessly carried out post election in desperate attempts to sustain the unsustainable - some of the queer declarations made by it on March 28 comes to light.

Some individuals, among them, Ifeany Uba of Capital Oil, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu and his brother, Linus may also run into murky waters for provable electoral offences and brigandage should the president-elect, Gen. Buhari make good his threat to prosecute electoral offenders.

Ikolo