— Insists ISIEC must shun illegality, follow its own guidelines, and conduct, Free Fair, credible polls not Extortion of Candidates

Anselem Anokwute

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State has condemned and rejected what it described as a blatant disregard to its constitutional guidelines by the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC) in Collaborations with the APC government for lack of due process and just four days before the proposed September 21, 2024, council election relying on alleged extortion of money from the candidates.

The party claims this is a clear indication of an unscrupulous plot by the Hope Uzodimma-led APC government to rig the election.

The party reaffirmed its readiness to participate in the election but insisted that ISIEC must adhere to its own guidelines and conduct a credible local government election.

The State Publicity Secretary Hon. Lancelot Obiaku, said this in a Press Conference from the State Chairman of the party, Hon. Austin Nwachukwu, on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, the PDP criticized ISIEC for not having published the list of voters in the wards as required by law, even with four days before the election. Instead, the commission invited the PDP’s Councillorship and Chairmanship candidates to its State headquarters, demanding N50,000 and N200,000, respectively in place of the purported validation.

The statement read: “First, we want to categorically state that the PDP in Imo State is ready and prepared for the proposed local government elections in the State at any time or any day ISIEC chooses to conduct them. As a party, we have done our homework thoroughly.

“Our Chairmanship and Councilorship candidates enjoy widespread support from the electorate and are confident of victory” , “This is no secret. The truth is that the Hope Uzodimma-led administration is so unpopular that it is nervous ahead of a council election in the very state it governs. What a shame. We are not surprised. The Uzodimma government is a colossal failure”.

“Today, we wish to alert Nigerians, especially the people of Imo, to the illegalities and foul play being perpetrated by the Uzodimma administration and the electoral commission.

“The issues are these: In our last meeting with the leadership of ISIEC on August 8, 2024, the Chairman, Chief Charles Ejiogu, along with his full complement of Commissioners, informed stakeholders that he had been invited by the State’s security heads to discuss security concerns regarding the election. In that meeting, held in Oguta, the ISIEC Chairman told us that security chiefs had expressed doubts about the safety of lives and property on election day, especially given the recent violent attacks and security breaches that left no fewer than 20 innocent citizens dead and properties worth over 1 billion Naira destroyed.

“Regrettably, to this moment, the ISIEC Chairman has neither briefed the political parties on the outcome of his meeting with the State security heads nor provided any further information on the conduct of the election based on the discussions with the political parties.

“In that same meeting, we discussed the fees for DF001 and DF002 (for Chairmanship and Councillorship candidates), but no agreement was reached. We also talked about the recruitment of ad-hoc staff to ensure they are not card-carrying members of any political party, particularly the Returning and Collation Officers, to ensure fairness. Additionally, we did not reach any conclusion on the date or deadline for the submission of party agents’ names to the commission, and ISIEC has since failed to reconvene with the parties to brief us on these issues.

“However, to our shock, on the night of September 16, 2024, we were alerted to a document circulating on social media, purportedly from ISIEC, signed by the Chairman, inviting candidates to its office on Orlu Road for validation. When we went to investigate this morning, we were surprised to find ISIEC was only demanding N50,000 from Councillorship candidates and N200,000 from Chairmanship candidates in place of the purported validation.

“We are appalled that ISIEC has yet to officially brief political parties as required by law or release any information regarding these matters. Where in the world does an electoral commission engage with candidates without involving the parties that nominated and sponsored them? This is illegal and has no basis in law. Even more troubling is that these actions violate ISIEC’s own guidelines.

“We want to inform the people of Imo and Nigerians at large that the State government and ISIEC are not prepared for the election—they are only interested in rigging it. But Imo people will not allow this to happen. The government is known for falsifying results, hijacking electoral materials, violating electoral guidelines, and intimidating the people of Imo. But this time, it will not stand. Enough is enough.

“We wish to reiterate that while Imo PDP and its candidates are fully prepared and ready for the election, the APC and its leaders are working behind the scenes to rig it. All we are demanding is for ISIEC to follow its own guidelines and conduct a free, fair, and credible election.

“It is shocking that less than four days before the election, ISIEC has not published the names of the candidate and the voters at various wards. As a party, we have followed all the necessary processes for nominating our candidates in accordance with ISIEC’s guidelines and submitted their names to the commission in good time, meeting all the requirements set forth by the Electoral Act.

“We insist that the right thing must be done, and it must be done without further delay before the APC government sets the State on fire once again.” Chief Austin Nwachukwu