Labour Party candidate for Owerri Municipal Constituency in the just concluded Imo State House of Assembly election, Hon. Clinton Amadi has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission in the State to declare him winner of the March 18 poll.

Owerri Municipal is one of the 26 LGAs so far declared by the INEC to have been won by the ruling All Progressives Congress.

Amadi, who spoke to Journalists in Owerri, the Imo State Capital, Sunday, following the outcome of the poll, noted that results of the election uploaded real-time on the INEC Result Viewing portal clearly showed he won in Owerri Municipal and however, regretted that the commission allowed itself to be used by the APC government in the state to thwart the will of the people.

The Labour Party candidate lamented that the election was massively rigged in favour of the APC, expressing disappointment that INEC compromised the election after all the assurances of a free, fair, transparent and credible process.

“What we experienced in Owerri Municipal was vote buying. APC came to polling units with POS and transferred money to voters. Despite all these, people voted against them.”

Amadi also stated that the election was marred with violence in some parts of the constituency.

“In some areas like Waterside Primary School and Ogugba Park, there were incidents of violence orchestrated by one of the governor’s aides and his thugs. They destroyed electoral materials, beat up people, injured others and sent people away from their polling units.”

The LP candidate reaffirmed that he won the election landslide.

“The results of the election from polling units uploaded real-time on the IReV showed that we won. To our greatest surprise when the election was concluded in the evening and our agents came to the collation center – the LGA headquarters, we were told that there was an order from above not to allow any agent into the council.

“It then came to our knowledge that the APC had prepared fake tags for Labour Party and other political parties, deceived INEC with those fake agents who claimed to be working for us.

“We protested till around 1am, they refused to allow our agents into the council. One of the soldiers later came and addressed us, and promised to look into our complaints and allow our agents into the council before the declaration of results.

“At about 1.30am, security agents in collaboration with APC members started beating up our supporters, injured Mr Okey Adiele, the Owerri Municpal Labour Party Collation Agent, broke his hands and legs, beat up some women, injured some boys with knife and cutleries and people started running helter skelter.

“But Labour Party supporters stood their ground. When they found out that we were not scared, the government of the day brought in heavy military and police presence and some Ebubeagu militia and they all chased us away.

“We all went home since they said they were closing, only to wake up this morning to hear that an APC candidate that came distant 3rd had been declared winner with over 78,000 votes.”

The LP candidate informed that in Owerri Municipal, the total registered voters were not more than 100,000 and there was voter apathy during the election.

“People did not turn up for the election at all. They were discouraged because of the fraud APC committed in the Presidential and National Assembly election. So, I wonder where the APC candidate got over 78,000 votes from.”

Amadi therefore called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the Imo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Sylvia Agu.

“How do you explain that in Imo State where Labour Party won six House of Reps’ seat and one Senate seat, APC now won in the 26 LGAs so far declared. It is impossible and we are not going to accept this.”

Amadi also called on the international community and security agencies to look into the fraud perpetrated by INEC, even as he vowed to seek justice in the Tribunal.

“I won the election. Results were uploaded real-time on the IReV, except about 15 percent that was brought to the LGA headquarters for upload and uptill now, I see that they have almost completed the upload and from our calculation, I won the election and should be declared winner. Anything short of that, we will go to Tribunal to seek for justice and we hope that justice will take its course at the end of the day.”

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