Amby Uneze in
Owerri
Worried over the
effect of the allegation credited to the Spokesperson of the Coalition of
United Political Patties (CUPP), Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere for raising alarm over
inflation of Voters’ Register in Omuma ward in Oru East local government area
of Imo State, the State government has called for his arrest saying his alarm was
capable of inciting confusion into the political system.
Addressing a press
conference on Friday at the Imo State Government House, Owerri,
Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Declan Emelumba said that
Ugochinyere who is a candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has case
to answer as to how he got the privy of the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) on voters’ register which according to INEC had not been
concluded.
Emelumba said that
"ignoring the spurious and seditious outburst of Ugochinyere will amount
to condoning criminality."
He, therefore,
called on the relevant security agencies to "immediately arrest the said
Ugochinyere to find out from him how he obtained the voters register he has
been parading before the public even when the INEC is still at the stage of
Automated Biometric Verification Systems (ABVS) which must be concluded before
an official voters register can be released to the public."
The Commissioner
said that "INEC has issued an official statement on the above and has gone
further to list the names of the States that entered fictitious registration of
voters and Imo State is not on that list."
Emelumba therefore
expressed worry that "Ugochinyere must have either hacked INEC Saver and
doctored documents there-from or forged the document he was brandishing,"
noting that “this is criminal and it is important that he should be
immediately arrested for questioning.”
Furthermore,
Emelumba debunked the claim by Ugochinyere that there was fraudulent
registration at Omuma and emphasized that "the security agencies have an
urgent task to find out how Ugochinyere, a PDP candidate in the 2023 elections
for Ideato North and South Federal Constituency came about the documents which
is aimed at heating up the polity, creating tension and inciting the
public."
He also challenged
Ugochinyere on what he described as "the laughable claim that the
so-called (CUPP)'s alleged investigation into the 22 states controlled by APC
in Nigeria only ended up pinpointing on the home Ward of Governor
Uzodimma."
"From his
reasoning it is clear that there was no investigation in the first instance but
circus show aimed at embarrassing the performing Governor of Imo
State."
Emelumba's words:
"By all intent and purposes, the show by Ugochinyere was hatched by PDP in
Imo State to embarrass the Government in a vain attempt to diminish the shine
from the hugely successful Presidential visit of Tuesday, 13th September, 2022
to Imo State.
"This is
because it is difficult to explain why Ugochinyere released his tissue of lies
just a day after the successful official visit of Mr. President to Imo
State."
The Commissioner
noted that "it is only natural for PDP to express their dismay and
devastation on the successful commissioning of the signature projects of the
Governor by Mr. President and its inherent gains."
Emelumba used the
briefing to call on Ugochinyere who is the PDP candidate for the forthcoming
election to "stop hiding under CUPP and using the body as a front and come
out openly as PDP candidate to campaign for himself and his master."
Denying the claim
by the same Ikenga Ugochinyere that Omuma Ward has fewer than 6000 registered
voters in 2014, Emelumba said "it is on good authority and from verifiable
data from INEC that Omuma Ward had close to 10,000 registered voters under that
period and for 2019 elections when their son contested as a Governor they
registered over 23,000 because many indigenes from the Ward came home to
register to support their son who was contesting the election."
He continued:
"Also, the 2023 elections as it is expected may have garnered over 20,000
more registered voters comprising students and staff of the State Polytechnic
at Omuma from different parts of Nigeria residing in Omuma."
Highlighting what
he called "the tepid reference by Ugochinyere to a pending 'secret court
action’' in a Federal High Court Owerri against the use of BVAS," Emelumba
said that "the porous allegations against the Governor was to insinuate
that the ‘secret court action’ was filed by an agent of Government."
Emelumba further
explained: "Unfortunately, an investigation into the suit-claim revealed
that the NBA stamp used in filing the suit belongs to a lawyer who is a very
close associate of a PDP chieftain who is the paymaster of Ugochinyere.
Therefore there is no doubt as to where the whole concoction is coming from and
why.
"In the same
vain the allusion by Ugochinyere that the INEC office at Omuma has been burnt
and that residents have fled the community because of insecurity clearly
vindicates government’s position that PDP was behind the insecurity in Imo
State, Orlu and Omuma in particular for political gains. If the claim was
true, the President could not have gone to Orlu to Commission projects,
the Catholic Bishops wouldn’t have held their Conference in Orlu. This is a
clear manifestation that Imo has gone pass that and insecurity is over in Imo
State.
"It is clear
that Ugochinyere and his co-travelers' antics are diversionary meant to perfect
the fraudulent activities of PDP and to divert attention from their evil plots
against the 2023 elections."
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