APGA, PPA Tackle INEC, Over Results

The claims by the ruling APGA and the Peoples Progressive Alliance that the outcome

of the Saturday presidential poll was manipulated against them and their call on the INEC to address their grievances is presented by Raymond Ozoji

Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections may have come and gone but the reverberations in Anambra State is just been felt as two parties in the contest, the ruling All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA and the Peoples Progressive Alliance, PPA have called for the cancellation and rescheduling of the polls to reflect the true wishes of the people. For APGA, which had no presidential candidate, the eventual outcome of the national assembly elections held in the state on March 28 , 2015 does not represent the will of Ndi-Anambra .

Both parties which addressed a crowded press conference at different locations stated their party’s rouse with the Independent Electora; Commission, INEC, for what they condemned as a-no contest. Addressing a post election conference in Awka , Anambra State Commissioner for Information , Culture and Tourism Chief Tony Onyima while reading out a 17 point press release faulted the conduct of the national assembly elections in the state . For Godwin Ezeemo of the PPA, the party rejects the result as announced by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) regarding Aguata Federal House of Representatives.

Chief Onyima stated that the results of the various polling units across Anambra State clearly indicated that APGA won the national assembly elections with a wide margin, adding that the will of Ndi-Anambra expressed in the voting exercise was brazenly violated and voting results manipulated at the collation stages of the electoral process by alleged anti-democratic forces .

The Information Commissioner said that he had the blessings of the national leader of APGA and Governor of Anambra State Chief Willie Obiano to organize the post election news conference , observed that the whole of process of the national assembly elections held in Anambra State was disturbing as he stated that the rampant act of thuggery was perpetrated thereby signifying the return of culture of impunity in Anambra State .

Chief Onyima cited late arrival of INEC officials at the polling units on the election day across the state as having affected the level of participation of the electorate in the voting exercise adding that the failure of card reader machines in most parts of the state equally created delays in the voting process which according to him affected the whole process of the exercise .

According to Chief Onyima anti-democratic elements whom he identified as notable figures of PDP were directly involved in the manipulation of the electoral process, kidnapping of INEC officials , hijacking election results from polling stations as well as re-writing figures in favour of PDP candidates . The state commissioner of information therefore cited the incident at Ihiala recently where an attempt to stop some PDP elements from altering the election results led to the death of a police man and an innocent citizen alleging that Ifeanyi Ubah the chairman of TAN and Mr.Olisa Metu PDP national publicity secretary were physically present at the scene of the incident .

He said Idemili-North was not left out as an invading mob purportedly led by a federal minister brazely thwarted the will of the people by altering results of the votes cast in the entire council area in favour of his younger brother , the PDP candidate.

To this end therefore , Chief Tony Onyima made it pointblank that the results of the national assembly elections as announced by the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Anambra State do not reflect the express will of Ndi-Anambra adding that the election results were a clear monumental electoral injustice on the people of Anambra State .

He therefore said tha the All Progressives Grand Alliance ( APGA) rejected the results of the national assembly elections in totality as he described it as a total violation of the soverign will of Ndi-Anambra and equally stands out as a travesty to Anambra citizens’ clamour for social justice and equitable representation in national politics .

Meanwhile, Mr Godwin Ezeemo the State Leader of Progressive People’s Alliance (PPA) in Anambra State has called for the adoption of option A 4 in future elections in the country.

He said the use of option A4 would check mate lots of electoral malpractices and make the true voice of the people heard .

Ezeemo said the party rejects the result as announced by Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) regarding Aguata Federal House of Representatives.

He said he was disassociating himself from  the election results and called for total cancellation of the election in the area. If these conditions were not met, he said the party would challenge it in law court.

Ezeomo who expressed his displeasure while speaking with newsmen in his country home Umuchu in Aguata Local Government Area of the state yesterday, described the results as a sham. According to him, the poll was characterized by irregularities and malpractices which would tarnish the mage of the Commission when upheld. “I must appreciate a reasonable degree of improvement made by the commission in other aspects of the electoral process but condemn in strong terms the announcement of Aguata result by INEC in just concluded elections.

“ INEC cannot be speaking from two sides of its mouth, they want to give a resounding and transparent electioneering process to the country and still display show of shame. “INEC should stand by it words of operating best practice and proving to the world that we have best brains to handle of our affairs “ he said.

Ezeemo said that in spite of delay in assumption of duty by the ad hoc workers that the card reader was not functioning well and the workers refused to switch over to manual accreditation immediately yet they stopped accreditation without attending to all voters saying that time is against them. The presiding officer refused to give extra time nor use accredit and vote since the commenced about 1pm so with that action lots of voters was shot out of voting it was painful’ he said.

He said that the result was doctored as the result released in most polling units in Amsie, Uga, Ekwuluobia,Achala among others did not tally with electoral records of the area. Ezeemo said that INEC was yet to curb money sharing in polling units on election day as that was the trade and stock of some political party on March 28 election. He said that stiffer penalty should be applied to political party sharing money to voters on election day as such would check mate the practices.

Also Mrs Angela Okoye, PPA candidate for Aguata Federal Constituency said that the actions of the INEC workers indicated that the commission was favoring a particular party.

Okoye said that voters in her strong holds was not accredited as they claimed that time was against while accreditation started by 2pm and voting ended about 6pm.

She said that INEC should correct its short falls and give credible elections on April 11.