The Labour Party (LP), Imo State chapter, has called for the immediate removal of the State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Sylvia Agu over alleged high irregularities on the conduct of the Presidential and National Assembly elections in the State.
The LP also called for the immediate removal all the Electoral Officers (EOs) and Supervising Presiding Officers (SPOs) in the State.
State chairman of the party, Ambrose Onyekwere while briefing newsmen in Owerri on Monday, submitted that Labour Party will reject in advance all results for the House of Assembly elections scheduled for March 11, 2023, if conducted by the current REC in the state.
Onyekwere said the election was marred by the late arrival of voting materials at the polling units, non-conduct of election at many polling units, deliberate subversion of the electoral process by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials, manipulation of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), intimidation and harassment.
According to him, elections did not hold in seven out of the 11 electoral wards in Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo North Senatorial Zone, but the INEC was about declaring the senatorial and House of Representatives candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress, as winners of the elections.
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Onyekwere noted that at Mbaitoli council area which has 287 polling units, elections were held in all the electoral wards with the exception of Amike ward with 19 polling units and one polling unit each from Ogwa Ward 2 and Ezinihite Ward, due to the absence of INEC officials.
According to him, from the outcome of the election, LP won in all the polling units from the presidency to the House of representatives.
He added that the failure of INEC to upload and transmit all the results collated showed clearly the “failure and insincerity of both the state government and INEC”.
The chairman said the party also won a landslide in Owerri municipal polling units but agents of the ruling party chased the party agents away and changed the results to favour their party.
“We interpret the actions of INEC as a deliberate and systematic disenfranchisement of the citizens of the state. We call for the immediate removal of the REC, all EOs, and SPOs in Imo State.
“We reject in advance any and all results for the House of assembly elections scheduled for 11/3 /23 if conducted by the current REC, professor Sylvia Agu and her team”, Onyekwere said.
