As leading parties in Imo state continue to trade accusations over the recent arrest of staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in the state, over alleged shoddy deals on results of elections conducted, Trumpeta can reveal that a candidate of the APC in the just concluded National Assembly is reported to be involved in the manipulation of result racketeering.
It would be recalled that security operatives from the Department of State Security (DSS) on Tuesday arrested officials of INEC including Emeka Mbaneme, Head of operations over alleged tampering of results of election conducted in the state.
Trumpeta exclusively learnt that a desperate candidate of the APC seeking to represent one of the federal constituencies in the state but however lost during the March 28th National Assembly/Presidential Elections, is behind the illicit act which has attracted the attention of security agencies.
Having lost to a PDP candidate after the polls and the winner issued with certificate of Return by INEC, the APC candidate said to have boasted and promised to be made a speaker of the Reps because of his ranking status was alleged to have connived with the INEC staff in charge of safe-keeping results of elections conducted to mutilate and falsify the result sheets in his favour.
According to details of the deal which security operatives uncovered , the INEC staff in the operations unit, now undergoing DSS interrogation for their various roles in the saga, tampered with the results by adding higher figures for the APC candidate to enable him pick victory from the law court.
The game plan, according inside sources was that the candidate would approach the tribunal with the tampered result sheets demanding to be declared winner based on total number of votes accredited to him by the arrested INEC staffers from the operations unit. Some of the INEC adhoc workers who conducted the National Assembly are also said to be involved in the racketeering as they were asked or forced to swear affidavit to endorse authenticate the fake and mutilated result sheets as the true and certified copy in favour of the failed APC candidate.
Further details on the falsifications of result scandal reveal that the bubble burst for the perpetrators when it was observed that while the figures on the sheets changed, the words were different and reflected the original copies collected by the agents and parties after the election. On noting the anormaly, the state Resident Commissioner was said to have called for a meeting where the staff oblivious of what was at stake attended before the SSS swooped on them. All staffers of unit were arrested for the on going investigation.
The APC candidate is said to have gone underground for fear of arrest.
This newspaper learnt that the target of the result manipulation was to displace the PDP winner, Obinna Onwubuariri for Okigwe North Fed Constituency. It was also gathered that similar procedures to outwit other PDP winners like Senator Hope Uzodimma, Rt Hon Goodluck Nana Opiah Senator elect for Orlu zone and Ohaji/Egbema, Oguta, Oru West federal constituency respectively were on until the recent revelation came to public knowledge.
There is serious panic in Imo INEC office following the arrest of some of its officials over electoral fraud by security agents.
Our reporter who visited the INEC office located in Port Harcourt road, Owerri hinted that the place is now under serious surveillance by security operatives. Security is now mounted at sensitive units. Movement around the place is restricted as massive investigation on the alleged fraud continue.
Latest information from security network reveals that he suspected APC candidate is in DSS Senate alongside not less than 22 INEC staff connected to the matter.
When our reporter called at DSS office, no official was willing to speak, but privileged information has it that operatives from Abuja have entered Owerri to take over the matter.
