NNPP guber candidate wants INEC to cancel Ebonyi governorship election, heads to court
From Chinedu Nwafor, Abakaliki
The governorship candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in the March 18 governorship and State House of Assembly elections in Ebonyi State, Prophet Dr Adol Awam, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cancel the governorship election it conducted in Ebonyi and hold a fresh one.
Awam who rejected the outcome of the election while briefing Journalists on Thursday in Abakaliki, vowed to challenge the exercise in the court.
He said it was disheartening that the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) failed to live up to its mandate of ensuring a free, fair, and credible election.
Awam said: “It is unfortunate that the election was an absolute sham as it was plagued with irregularities, such as failure to use BVAS to upload election results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV) in real time, disenfranchisement of voters,rigging, vote buying, violence and intimidation, manipulation of election results, under-supply of voting materials,over-voting, ballot box stuffing and others are issues of corrupt practices and non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
“It is on this premise that the NNPP sternly rejects the outcome of the election since it is apparently glaring that the process was flawed. Consequently, a flawed process will eventually produce a flawed outcome. Therefore we call on INEC to cancel the gubernatorial elections in Ebonyi State. We are not alone in this as several other parties have also rejected the results and are in tune with our position.
“It is disheartening to note that the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) failed to live up to its mandate of ensuring a free, fair, and credible election.However, we want to reassure all Ebonyians that we will explore all legal means available to ensure that justice is served.”
Awam revealed that an agent of the Party, Thomas Obodo was murdered in the line of duty on March 18 by political thugs at Igbeagu Community, Izzi Local Government Area of the State and called on the relevant authorities to ensure that the killers of the deceased were brought to book.
“It is with a heavy heart that I extend my condolences to the family of Late Thomas Obodo, a former party agent of the NNPP, who was killed by thugs in Izzi LGA while protecting the votes of Ebonyians.
“The NNPP is deeply saddened by this unfortunate incident, and we call on the relevant authorities to ensure that justice is served. I also extend my condolences to the PDP over the loss of one of their LGA chairmen,” he said.
While thanking people of Ebonyi State for their support to him during the election, Awam said: “We remain committed to our vision of building a better Ebonyi State, where every citizen can live, work and prosper in a peaceful and secure environment. We urge all Ebonyians to remain calm and law-abiding as we pursue the legal process to reclaim our mandate.
“Once again, I thank all Ebonyians who supported us throughout this journey,and I assure you that the NNPP will continue to stand for justice, equity, and fairness in Ebonyi State.Thank you,” he stated.
