Safe for the intervention of the security agents, the safety of Dr. Queen Elizabeth Agwu, the Electoral Commissioner deployed to conduct the re-run election for the Enugu South Urban state constituency election would have been compromised.
Trouble started when one of the parties participating in the election accused the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC of compromising the process.
Speaking to newsmen, the Chairman of the PDP in Enugu South LGA, Chief Freedom Nnam, said attempts to get the electoral officer to produce the authentic result sheets for sighting was resisted, alleging that she was in league with some political actors in the LP “to announce an already prepared result.
“We are at Uwani Secondary school right now, waiting for election materials. All the parties have requested to see the original result sheets, for them to see. We are not comfortable with those fake result sheets they showed us. The result sheets are fake.
“But instead of doing the right thing, she made an instructive statement that no man created by God can stop this election that has already been ‘perfected’; that whether we like it or not, that she is going to call the ‘perfected result’.
“So we were all shocked; and we are asking her, are you for real? Are you for real, please? You must show us the original result sheets.
“This is democracy and we are calling on all lovers of democracy and we are calling on INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu to tell her to stop this nonsense. What is the use of people spending the entire day under the sun when the original result sheets have already been perfected, according to her? It is not right. Let the right thing be done,” Nnam stated.
However, members of the Labour Party said they’re poised to winning the election and urged the electoral body to complete the process in the interest of the state and for the survival of Democracy.
The candidate of the Labour Party in the election, Barr. Bright Ngene said the claim of fake result sheet isn’t true adding that “before the election, INEC has been calling stakeholders meeting and the result sheet and at CBN, the Electoral body showed the result sheet to all including the media.”
He described the allegation as a calculated effort to frustrate the process adding that there most be an end to the electoral process as resources and others are being wasted by the state.
The Enugu Police commissioner, CP Kanayo Uzuegbu who was on ground at the venue with his men from different formations while briefing newsmen, assured that he has put adequate measures on ground in collaboration with other sister security agencies to forestall any breakdown of law and order and ensure that the process is completed smoothly.
However, the process was truncated when suspected party faithfuls, masquerading as voters, started chanting that they’ve lost confidence in the electoral body.
The angry group attempted to hold the electoral Commissioner hostage, before the Police, army and other security personnel on ground at the venue of the election, intervened and dispersed them.
INEC, through its X (formerly Twitter) verified account alleged that the election process was “disrupted by hoodlums”, and at the time of this report, is yet to state its position and the next line of action on the abruptly stopped election after the party agents’ accusations against the electoral body.
