‘INEC EO alleges brutalisation by thugs for refusing to announce fake election result in Abia’ (Video)

Reports have gone viral following a video containing an open interview granted by the Electoral Officer (EO) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abia who claimed the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state tried to force him to announce a doctored election result at one of the local government areas.

The EO who oversaw the controversial Obingwa local government area in Abia, further claimed he was being forced by the ruling party’s chieftains and some thugs to announce a doctored election result from the governorship poll conducted in the state, last Saturday.

INEC, Monday evening, suspended collation of election results from Obingwa council after nearly all the other local government areas had been announce and uploaded to the commission’s IReV portal, with the candidate of the Labour Party, Alex Otti clearly in the lead ahead of the ruling party, PDP’s Okechukwu Ambrose Ahiwe.

The incumbent State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu hails from Obingwa local government area.

The embattled council area has less than 24, 000 registered voters, with the LP already leading the overall votes by over 90, 000 polled from the other councils.

In the interview granted by the INEC EO, he claimed that ‘After writing over 82,000 fake votes in Obingwa, they asked him to make an announcement which he refused clearly because, the number of accredited voters was far less than what was written as the number of votes cast, and such cannot be announced in accordance with the electoral law.’

“INEC electoral officer deployed to Obingwa for the conduct of the governorship election in Abia State was almost beaten to death by the PDP over his refusal to aid them rig an election it lost clearly.

“After writing over 82,000 fake votes in Obingwa, they asked him to make an announcement which he refused clearly because, the number of accredited voters was far less than what was written as the number of votes cast, and such cannot be announced in accordance with the electoral law. 

“This happened in Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu’s peaceful Obingwa L.G.A. 

“Listen to his story as he recounts his ordeal at Obingwa in the hands of people who paint the pictures of themselves as not being desperate. 

“I will be releasing more videos.  Please, share widely and also tag INEC Nigeria.  – Mezie Abia”

Watch video below:

It would be recalled that candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the Abia governorship election conducted by INEC, last Saturday, Dr Alex Otti, as at Sunday afternoon, was set to emerge winner and governor-elect, going by results already uploaded to the IReV portal of INEC.

However, INEC officials initially shifted collation of results to the next day, Monday, and then after reviewing the thugs’ invasion incident at the Obingwa council, suspended the results collation exercise.

Results from 17 local government areas in the state already uploaded show the Labour Party in the clear lead with the outcome of the poll in Obingwa local council still pending.

Otti of the Labour Party had earlier raised the alarm about alleged plots by the governor in connivance with some ‘compromised INEC staff’ to alter results of about four Local Government Areas, including Osisioma, Aba North, Aba South and Obingwa LGA, where the governor hails from.

While Governor Ikpeazu is not a candidate in the election by virtue of his inability to seek a third term, his former Chief of Staff, Okechukwu Ambrose Ahiwe, is the candidate of the ruling PDP.

Governor Ikpeazu and the police had reportedly stormed the Obingwa office of INEC over undisclosed reasons not unrelated to the collated results, however, when he left, some unidentified thugs remained at the Obingwa collation centre and prevented the election officers from relocating to the Umuahia collation office for the state.

The thugs were demanding that the results of polling units in the LGA be announced before being transferred to the state office.

Consequently, INEC which confirmed its office in Obingwa Local Government Area office in Abia State which had been invaded by thugs, will not continue collating election results until further notice.