Ohanaeze Youths Allege Manipulation Of Imo West Result

The leadership of Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC) has accused the Imo State resident electoral commissioner (REC), Prof Sylvia Uchenna Agu, of manipulating the result of the Imo West Senatorial District in last Saturday’s National Assembly contest.

They vowed to ensure that rights of Imolites which were usurped in the election were respected and restored.

The youths said in the history of INEC commissioners in Imo State, the REC set a deficit record by going ahead to declare a winner based on the manipulated Imo West senatorial results.

Addressing news men after an emergency meeting of the council in the state capital Owerri on Wednesday, the national president of OYC, Comrade Igboayaka O. Igboayaka, who hails from the Orlu senatorial district condemned the electoral fraud he alleged Agu committed against the people of the zone.

Igboayaka said classified information available to the council showed that the REC struck a deal to declare Hope Uzodinma’s preferred candidate, Osita Izunaso, as the winner of the senatorial election against all odds.

According to him, “prior to the election, after meeting a with one of Osita Izunaso’s trusted allies, at the former’s house, it was disclosed that Hope Uzodinma had concluded the rigging arrangements with Prof. Sylvia Uchenna Agu to declare Osita Izunaso his preferred senatorial candidates of All Progressives Congress the winner of senatorial seat.”

Igboayaka who witnessed the electoral process within the zone stated that there was no election in Orlu, Oru-East, Orsu, part of Oru-West and Ohaji Egbema, alleging that the REC connived with local government electoral officer to do the shabby job.

He said, “From the results that emanated from Isu, Njaba, Nkwerre Nwangele, Ideato North/South and Oguta, showed that Labour Party won with a landslide, but the REC aided Hope Uzodinma to achieve ‘Omuma Political Magic’ by manufacturing results from areas were no election took place. We have strong feelings that upturning the mandate of Ndigbo given freely to the Labour Party in the Orlu Zone was not ordinary.