Insecurity Could Trigger Voter Apathy In South East, LP Warns

Labour Party (LP) South East national security coordinator, assistant inspector general of police (rtd), Dr. Charles Ugomuoh, has said the alarming proportion of insecurity in South East may trigger voter apathy in the region.

Ugomuoh who disclosed this while addressing newsmen in Abuja yesterday called on the governors of the South East of Imo, Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi, and Enugu States to exercise the prerogative of governance and their oath of office in the protection of lives and properties of the citizens of the region.

He said the people of the southeast must not be disenfranchised.

Ugomuoh also called on all the security agencies especially the Police and DSS to be alive to their duties and responsibilities in the areas of securing the lives and properties of the people of the region.

He urged the people of South East to resist the bare-faced intimidation and unwarranted violence and troops out on election day to vote.

According to him, “The state governors and security agencies must rise to the occasion and secure the people.

“A situation where non-state actors perpetrate violence, people are shot at will, houses, and vehicles set ablaze, and government and security agencies look helpless is no longer tolerable and acceptable because the people’s lives matter.

“The security agencies must be proactive and resist compromise. This violence is a recipe for voter apathy and should not be allowed.”

He said a situation where deliberate violence and terrorist activities are deployed ahead of the 25th February, 2023 general election will disenfranchise the people and there will no longer be a level playing ground for all the contestants.

According to him, “A sponsored sit-at-home in the south east is now the other of the day where one person is shot and many scared away to keep them indoors ahead of the general election will result in voter apathy.

“The state governors must answer to where security votes are deployed to since they are incapable of securing their states and the people.

“It may not be unlikely that some state governments and misguided politicians are sponsoring this violence as a means to ride back to power and disenfranchise the citizens. This must stop.

“The advent of Ebubeagu has brought untold hardship to the people of the region, especially in Imo and Ebonyi states where violence and terrorist actions are now pervasive.

“The government of South East Region must ban Ebubeagu now if they are not complicit with the violence they are perpetrating. A house of Assembly Candidate of the Labour Party was shot dead, houses and vehicles razed and so to many other labour party members. No arrests, no prosecution where are we heading to?”

He added that the Inspector General of Police must put a stop to this and also put measures on the ground to reassure and secure the people of the region as the elections approach for free, fair, and credible elections to take place.