Ohakim Rejects Imo PDP Guber Primaries, Calls for Cancellation

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines Friday, December 12th, 2014

IGNATIUS OKPARA, Owerri – As controversy continues to trail last Monday’s People’s Democratic Party ( PDP) governorship primary election result in Imo state, a gubernatorial aspirant in the state, Chief Ikedi Ohakim, has called for total cancellation of the election in the interest of peace in the state.

Ohakim, a former governor of the state, had through his agent at the primary election, Chief Orikeze Ajumbe, told newsmen in Owerri Thursday that the demand for cancellation of the election became necessary giving the irregularities that marred the process.

He questioned that if the total number of votes cast during the primary as contained in the boxes were 1,017 and the total number of votes recorded for aspirants is 1038, where then did the surplus of 21 votes come from?.

The ex- governor, pointed out at that the delegates accreditation was characterised by visible conspiracy among the electoral officers, who chased away the agents of the guber aspirants.

Ohakim regretted that the announced figures was never recorded on the result sheet and signed by the agents and the State Security Service SSS.

According to him, “the electoral officers hurriedly announced the supposed winner and left the venue without allowing agents and SSS sign the result sheet”.

He also observed with displeasure the manner the agents of the aspirants were chased away from the election venue, pointing out that the discovery of 25 impersonators who were equally chased away but later were brought back by the electoral officers when they threw the gate open for everybody to enter.

The former governor, also noted that during called vote count separation, votes allocated to each aspirant were never authenticated by the agents of other aspirants and it was not audible, adding that complain against the method of counting were ignored.

He said even when agents expressed their displeasure about the National Youth leader of the party and demanded for his exclusion from the counting of the ballot, yet it was ignored.

Ohakim further blamed the electoral officers from Abuja for compromising, stressing that it was a deliberate action by the officials to drag the election into the night to allow for manipulation of the result.