Imo PDP Faults Uzodimma’s Stance On INEC Office Attack

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Imo State chapter has raised eyebrows over the statement made by the governor of the state, Hope Uzodimma, in the aftermath of the attack on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Owerri, describing the statement as irresponsible and shameful.

The statement, signed by the state publicity secretary, Collins Opurozor, was made available to LEADERSHIP in Owerri, Imo State capital, yesterday.

PDP stressed that the insecurity in the state is simply and squarely a direct consequence of the catastrophic failure of governance in the state under the unpopular regime of Senator Uzodimma.

Uzodimma had said that the attack on the headquarters of INEC in Owerri is proof that insecurity in the state is politically motivated.

The governor spoke to newsmen at the police headquarters in Owerri where the five lifeless bodies including two of the suspected attackers were paraded.

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Reacting to Uzodimma’s claim, PDP said: “This governor can no longer defend his inability to deliver on the primary expectation of political governance, which is the security of lives and property.”

In his reaction, the commissioner for information and strategy, Hon Declan Emelumba, highlighted that the Imo PDP is troubled by their conscience and revealed that the state government will continue to trail the hoodlums and their promoters.

He submitted that as a responsible and responsive administration, they will continue to support security agents and follow all legal means, so as to restore permanent peace in the state.

The statement reads: “By the way, what else defines political desperation better than a man who came fourth in an election but usurped the people’s mandate through a judicial heist, and now sees himself as their feudal lord?

“From the first week of January this year to the second week of December, Senator Uzodimma has continued to tell Imo people that his enemies are behind the carnage and ravages going on in the state. He has failed to name the enemies. He has also failed to bring them to book. Instead, he repeats the same thing day after day with the intention of hiding his failures and getting sympathizers.

”Imo PDP regrets that, in view of Senator Uzodimma’s lack of sincerity and genuine commitment to addressing the festering insecurity in the state, the valleys of Orsu, the forests of Orlu and the rocky hills of Okigwe have now become safe havens for terrorists, bandits and kidnappers who now make life a misery for Imo people.

“Our party holds that the insecurity in Imo is simply and squarely a direct consequence of the catastrophic failure of governance in the state under the unpopular regime of Senator Uzodimma.

“Our party deems it very important to remind Imo people and Nigerians that, before this latest attack on INEC office in the state, there had been some other desperate efforts by those who came to power through the back door to undermine the capacity of INEC to conduct free, fair and credible elections in the state.

“First, INEC came under a very brutal legal attack through a secret court action instituted in the state by those same usurpers. They had sought to stop the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), a technology they feared would frustrate their plot to manipulate the forthcoming elections.

“Second, INEC’s database was attacked and the voter register massively compromised, particularly for Omuma Ward, where tens of thousands of fake, alien and non-existent names and photographs were smuggled into the register. That is what Nigerians now refer to as the Omuma Magic!

“It is telling, not just that Omuma is the hometown of Senator Hope Uzodimma, but also that the regime in Imo quickly arrested and arbitrarily detained the INEC officials who were accused of bringing to public knowledge the monumental voters register fraud in Omuma.

“Our party, therefore, continues to condemn these Illegal, cyber and physical attacks on INEC and asks security agencies to probe beneath the surface to establish possible links which the secret court action against INEC and an earlier attack on INEC voters register might have with the recent attack on INEC Office in Owerri. Those found guilty of one cannot file a disclaimer over the others.”