The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to announce the results of the February 23, 2019, Imo North Senatorial election, as well as that of the March 9 rerun polls.
In a statement issued on Friday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu was asked to direct the immediate released of the results in which the PDP says its candidate, Hon. Ndubueze Patrick, is in clear lead.
According to the statement, the continuous delay in announcing the final result, after returns have been established at the Polling Units, wards
and Local Governments levels is already heightening tension in the state.
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It read in part: “This is more so as the results have been moved to INEC headquarters in Abuja following the harassment of INEC officials in Imo state by agents of the losing All Progressives Congress (APC) and Action Alliance (AA).
“From the collated results in the February 23 elections, the PDP won in all the Local Governments in Imo North before polls in two local governments; Isiala Mbano and Ehime Mbano were cancelled and scheduled for rerun.
“Already, from the results declared, the PDP led in Okigwe, Onuimo, Obowo and Ihite/Uboma Local Government Areas with 21, 254, ahead of APC and
AA, which scored 12,756 and 12,236 respectively”.
Consequently, the PDP alleged that “at the March 9 rerun elections, when the AA and the APC realized that the PDP was winning, they resorted to mutilation and alteration of results, particularly with the collaboration of collation officers in Ehime Mbano, before the intervention of the state Resident Electoral
Commissioner (REC), who called for proper scrutiny of documents following protests by the people.
The party, therefore, urged Professor Yakubu to douse the tension in the state by directing the declaration of the final results and return its candidate, who “has been legitimately elected by the people of Imo North to represent them at the Senate”.
