The Imo State Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Marshall Okaforanyanwu has condemned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state describing the presidential, national assembly and state house of assembly elections as total sham.
Briefing newsmen in his office Wednesday in Owerri, Okaforanyanwu described INEC as an extension of APC which has betrayed themselves and the entire Country.
The party chairman expressed dissatisfaction with what he termed the selection done in the state which metamorphosed into the ceding of the 27 Local Government Areas to APC.
According to him, the results which INEC eventually announced turned out to be the same thing the political parties in the state have cried about and complained to the Resident Electoral Commissioner which she failed to take cognisance of with a view to addressing it on time.
He said: “two days before the elections, we made several complaints, wrote a series of petitions even to Abuja, equally met the REC in INEC office, but she debunked every allegation of seeding the 27 LGAs to APC.”
He regretted that all the complains both oral and written by both groups and individuals to INEC were not given any attention
He said: “you can’t tell me that other political parties in the state including those like PDP that have a stronghold in the state did not win any election in the state.”
Okaforanyanwu pointed out that from what played out where the INEC has decided to collaborate with APC to do their selections, allotting the number of votes for which they declared winners, means that the electoral umpire has premonition to thwart the real reflection of the wills of the people.
The party chairman who maintained that APC did not win any election in Imo state added that the party have not done anything that would warrant them from getting such credit in Imo.
He said: “it is unfortunate that the electoral umpire that is supposed to checkmate the whole thing to correct anomalies did not do anything, even when we made complains both oral and written with video clips and photographs, yet they will treat it as nothing happens.”
Okaforanyanwu stated that he could not vote in the last election adding that he only saw the election in his Oru East LGA in a few booths adding that after the election, the INEC officers refused to count the results there nor give results sheets to party agents including his own party SDP.
He said: “they carted it away and took the whole election materials away to an undisclosed place.”
Okaforanyanwu regretted that a good number of young men registered for the last election yet they have nothing to show for it, adding that most of them have already lost confidence in the Nigeria democracy system.
He said: “it will be difficult to call any body to come and do anything with INEC, they will not come. Most of them have decided to burn their voter’s cards.
“How did the APC win the whole 27 LGAs when they did not offer anything to the people.”
On the rating of his party SDP, Prince Okaforanyanwu expressed optimism that the party is strong and moving on despite what transpired during the last election.
He said the contest was not between SDP and their contemporaries but rather between his party and INEC who he said became the referee of the football match.
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