Imo State Governorship Election Stakeholders Meeting Marred by Controversy
A crisis unfolded during the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) stakeholders meeting in preparation for the upcoming Imo state governorship election this weekend. The turmoil erupted right after INEC’s National Commissioner representing the South East, Kenneth Ukeagu, acting on behalf of INEC’s National Chairman Mahmood Yakubu, instructed journalists to cease recording with their cameras and gadgets once he had formally declared the interactive session open.
Opposition party members, notably the running mates of the Labour Party governorship candidate, Tony Nwulu, and the Peoples Democratic Party’s Jones Onyereri, vehemently opposed this directive. They asserted that INEC’s decision to restrict media coverage validated allegations that the All Progressives Congress (APC) had conspired with the electoral body to manipulate the election results.
Nwulu went further to emphasize that the exclusion of the media from the stakeholders’ meeting was unacceptable. He challenged Ukeagu, questioning whether the meeting was intended to be conducted in secrecy and accused INEC of planning to rig the election in favor of the APC.
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Joining Nwulu’s protest, Onyereri presented copies of documents that he claimed were counterfeit result sheets displayed on INEC’s portal during the House of Assembly election in the state.
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