The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State has advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to tamper with the ballot papers, used and unused.
In a statement, APC’s governorship candidate, Okey Ezea, said the electoral body should not attempt to justify the bogus results it announced for the April 11 elections.
The statement reads: “Information at our disposal, which we believe is credible, indicates that all the Presiding Officers (POs) during the elections in Enugu were summoned by the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) to the INEC office in Enugu for the purpose of signing the ballot papers on Friday, April 17.
The POs were said to have been directed to thumb-print and sign the ballot papers to cover up the fake results INEC declared.”
Ezea warned INEC not to tamper with the ballot sheets already submitted to his office as this constitutes electoral fraud. The illegal act, he said, ‘will not stand as we have evidence that some of the results declared did not represent the true situation of the voting and the winners announced.
He maintained that thumb-printing and signing of ballot papers after elections amounted to electoral offence that should be investigated by security agencies if they did not support or encourage the illegality.
The candidate said the APC in Enugu had been pressing for a cancellation of the April 11 election and a rerun conducted.
“The APC in Enugu State have lodged a complaint to INEC chairman through the REC in Enugu, rejecting the fraudulent elections and the results announced. We called for cancellation and a fresh election to be held.
“We have also made our stand known to the public through the media. We use this medium to call on our supporters, some of whom were brutalised and humiliated, to remain calm while we seek justice through the right channels,” Ezea said.