It was hell in Nnewi the commercial town of Anambra State as seven Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) were smashed at the Anambra South senatorial district collation centre Nnewi.
The violence led to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senatorial candidate Chief Chris Uba and his All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) counterpart Chief Chris Azubogu fled the scene following heavy gunshots in the area.
Uba had alleged that Sen Ifeanyi Ubah of the Young Progressives Party ordered his security operatives to shoot him and Azubogu for coming to the Senatorial election collation center to stop him from rigging the election.
According to him, “I came to the collation center and had visited some polling units where they were voting without accreditation with BVAS and I said no we must follow the Electoral Act”.
“Ifeanyi Ubah had concluded arrangements to allegedly manipulate the election by not using the BVAS and at the Collation center Nnewi, I saw Ifeanyi Ubah; later I was in my SUV when he came and was hitting his hand at my vehicle asking me to come down.”
“When I came out of my vehicle he pushed me and asked me why I had come to Nnewi and I told him that it is a Senatorial center and he started shouting to his security operatives to shoot me and Chris Azubogu”.
“They started shooting any how and beating up people and look at my four vehicles; they shot the tires and came to attack me and Azubogu and we had to run for our lives and on the way my SUV fell into a ditch,” he said
He called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to disqualify Ubah for alleged thuggery and attempted assassination.
In a quick reaction, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah through his aids Kameh Ogbonna alleged that “The conceited attempt by the duo of Chris Uba and Chris Azubogu to hijack the collation process last night and relocate it to Awka in a clear bid to mutilate the ward results in their favour and declare a false electoral outcome boomeranged on their faces last night as they scampered to safety after they were roundly accosted by an angry mob of youths that trooped out to defend their votes.”
He said, “The news that the incumbent Senator is cruising to massive victory in the Senatorial polls conducted on Saturday 25th February 2023 is presently trending in the entire Senatorial District since the conclusion of the polls on Saturday.”
“It took the intervention of the youths who quickly mobilised others and flooded the collation centre in their numbers to quell the attempt and restore normalcy to the tensed situation.”
The Media Assistant to Azubogu Mr Chris Macon dismissed Ifeanyi Ubah claims, adding that Sen Ifeanyi Ubah actually attacked his boss and Chris Uba .
According to him, “Last night, an attempt was made on the life of the 2023 APGA Candidate in last Saturday’s Anambra South senatorial election on the express orders of Sen. Ifeanyi Ubah who ordered his gang of thugs, to the hearing of all, to kill Azubogu (a ranking sitting legislator representing the good people of Nnewi North, South and Ekwusigo federal constituency in the House of Representatives) if he stepped out of his SUV.”
“That was after they had shot and punctured the tyres of Azubogu’s SUV.”
“While the above scenario was playing out, Sen. Ubah’s thugs in their numbers were shooting sporadically into the air; perhaps, in an attempt to provoke DSS operatives attached to Rep. Azubogu into reacting; but the operatives were professional to the core in resisting the provocation’
Azubogu had arrived at the INEC office earlier to submit a petition to the Electoral Officer, which he did in the presence of the Nnewi North Transiyoon Committee Chairman.
“As though he sensed that this will happen, Azubogu had, before the election, written the NSA, DG – SS, The IGP and the Anambra State Governor, Prof. Charles Soludo on the need for all candidates to commit to peaceful conduct during the elections”
“On the day of the election, he was seen moving from one polling booth to another in Nnewi trying to intimidate and deter opponents’ supporters from voting their preferred choices.’ he said.
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