Ebonyi APGA guber candidate alleges deployment of thugs to disrupt polls in his stronghold
From Chinedu Nwafor, Abakaliki
The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) Prof Benard Odoh has alleged that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) deployed political thugs in military and police uniforms to unleash mayhem and disrupt the election in his stronghold.
Odoh who hails from Ezza North LGA of the State, disclosed that three persons were shot by the political thugs.
Odoh, who spoke to Journalists in Abakaliki, said that “I have raised a great concern about what is happening in the ongoing governorship and state house of Assembly elections in Ebonyi state.
“In my local government, APC, has deployed a massive number of thugs, armed men wearing fake army uniform and of police uniforms. They have been on rampage since morning. They have been moving from one polling Units to another.
“In my ward, at Omege, they came and shot three (3) persons though not dead. They took all the electoral materials that INEC came with. At another ward in Nsurakpa ward, as I speak with you now, they are on rampage.
“They came there and snatch the INEC electoral materials and set them ablaze, and all kind of mayhem are going on in Ezza North LGA. This is the situation we are witnessing, I have been in touch with INEC officials.
“It has been a very challenging day for us. All they have done is to disrupt, suppressed and to dampen the spirit of the voters who ordinarily wants to come out and vote.
“We are not giving up, we will continue to push, even INEC has ran out of ideas of what to do. They have been muzzled out and even security agencies are trying but their efforts are not enough to contain the number of thugs.
Odoh, however, called on the independent National electoral commission, INEC, to re-conduct election in the areas that was disrupted by thugs.
When contacted, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Ebonyi State, Mrs Onyeka Ugochi said she had received similar reports and that the Commission was working towards the conduct of election in the affected areas.
“I have gotten so many reports from that Ezza North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. We are on the verge of doing something. We will take care of it” she noted
