*Says Information Commissioner, Aniagwu’s claims proves PDP’s interference in Delta’s governorship poll
The Delta APC Governorship Campaign Council has alleged that the PDP-led state government is doing all it can to rig the governorship election in favour of PDP governorship candidate, Oborevwori Sheriff Francis Orohwedor.
APC’s Campaign Council in a statement issued by its Director, Communications and Media Strategy, Ima Niboro, on Sunday, debunked the claim by Commissioner for Information in Delta State, Charles Aniagwu, that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won 23 of the 25 local government areas in the state.
“Speaking on Arise TV, he unwittingly proved what the people of Delta State had already known, that PDP acted with unbridled impunity in Saturday’s gubernatorial election and distorted the people’s will.
“At the time Aniagwu made the claim, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had announced the results of only five local government areas with those of 20 being awaited. In effect, the Delta State PDP had actually manipulated the election for it to make such a claim. At the time INEC began announcing the results, that of Udu LGA had already been released with APC winning with a wide margin”, Niboro said in the statement sent to Frontline News Online.
The APC further accused Aniagwu of saying the APC’s flagbearer, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege was delaying the results from some local government areas.
Niboro said Omo-Agege was not involved in delaying results, adding that, “Nothing can be further from the truth. It is a classical case of falsely labelling an opponent with the crimes already committed by the accusers, the PDP”.
“We are aware that Dr. Festus Okubor, Director of Strategy in the Okowa Government, was inside the INEC office without a valid reason other than to interfere and rig results in favour of the PDP. When confronted by the army commander, he continued to introduce himself as the brother-in-law of Chief of Defense Staff, on whose authority he claimed he was at the collation Centre but was asked to go out by a gallant Army Commander who was in the INEC premises on his official duty. Similarly, Mr Hilary Ibegbulem, Principal Staff Officer, was also walked out of the coalition centre.
“We also know that in Ika North East, BVAS boxes were found without BVAS machines inside. We are also aware that Ifeanyi Eboigbe, Okowa’s Director of Protocol, carted away BVAS machines from Ika South and returned two hours later with them.
“ Even Mr . Charles Aniagwu Commissioner of Information was stopped with an INEC official in his car. When confronted by security agents, he tried to lie that he was helping the official do an errand. The Army returned with both of them to the INEC office and found out the staff was sent nowhere but only sneaking the said official to where they were writing the election results. It will seem, and as is clear, Governor Okowa had moved his office into INEC in order to manipulate the results of Ika North East and South in favour of the PDP. This would explain their confidence in saying they had won an election that was still in process”, the statement further read.
Be the first to comment