Counsel to the All Progressives Grand Alliance [APGA] governorship candidate in Abia State, Chief Ndionyenma Nwankwo, has alleged that thugs disrupted Wednesday’s inspection of ballot papers in Obingwa Local Government Area headquarters.
Speaking with newsmen in Umuahia after the sitting of the tribunal, Nwankwo said that forensic inspection of the ballot papers used during the governorship poll in Obingwa was disrupted by political hirelings and thugs.
Nwankwo said that a team of forensic experts were at the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC] in Obingwa for the inspection of the materials when the thugs invaded the venue.
He said that the thugs snatched some ballot papers from a representative of INEC, who accompanied the forensic experts for the inspection, and tore them, daring the security operatives to challenge them.
Nwankwo said, ‘’When we noticed that the place was no longer safe for us, because the thugs started chanting war songs, we quietly packed our machines and left in order to avert a violent attack on us.’’
He said that Otti’s legal team had filed a motion at the tribunal, seeking an order to compel INEC to make the materials available for inspection at its headquarters in Umuahia.
Nwankwo further alleged a collusion between INEC and the PDP ‘’to ensure that the inspection did not go on,’’ citing similar frustrations faced in previous attempts to inspect the electoral materials in the custody of INEC.
“Up until now, Forms EC8 A-C are still with the Local Government Electoral officers. But the Electoral Act stipulates that they should be in the custody of the INEC headquarters seven days after the polls.”
The APGA counsel said that the Electoral Act gives the petitioners unfettered access to all the materials used during the elections, and urged INEC not to impede the course of justice.
However, the state secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP], Charles Esonu, debunked the allegation, saying that APGA did not follow the ruling of the tribunal.
Esonu denied the fact that some hired thugs invaded the venue of the forensic inspection of electoral materials, saying that the APGA team failed to comply with the directive of the tribunal.
“Instead of paying for the copies they wanted to inspect, they rather commenced photocopying the materials.”
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the tribunal, Hon. Justice Usman Bwala, has adjourned hearing of the motion to Thursday, July 2.