The Senator Andy Uba Campaign Organisation has rejected the result of the just-concluded Anambra state governorship election as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The campaign organisation described the outcome of the election as a charade, adding that it did not reflect the wishes of the people of the state.
In a statement signed on Thursday in Abuja on behalf of the campaign organisation, Ambassador Jerry Ugokwe, alleged that the candidate of the APC, Senator Andy Uba is a victim of widespread electoral fraud and manipulation by INEC.
“The elections were characterised by widespread irregularities, intimidation, and voter suppression in order to clear the path for the inglorious ‘victory’ of APGA in the polls.
For instance, in polling units where the Biometric Voters’ Accreditation System malfunctioned, INEC went ahead to conduct the elections manually. There were numerous cases where votes announced by INEC exceeded the number of accredited voters in polling units.
“Another clear manifestation of collusion between the Obiano administration and INEC was the publishing of results on the social media handles of APGA even before the official announcement by INEC. Yet mysteriously, the votes announced in advance by APGA always corresponded correctly with the official figures released by INEC. “It is inconceivable that our candidate, who polled over 200,000 votes in the APC primary election would be allocated slightly above 43,000 votes by INEC.
“It is surprising that APGA that lost almost 80% of its stalwarts through defection to the APC before the election came out ‘victorious.’” According to the statement, the only people remaining in APGA at the time of the election were Governor Obiano, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, and their households. Ugokwe added: “There was definitely no way the carcass of APGA could have defeated the APC without the active collusion and manipulation by INEC and the Obiano administration.”
The campaign group appealed to the APC supporters to remain peaceful and calm, saying the party will use legal means to recover its electoral mandate.