A fresh dimension has entered into the struggle for the eventual winner of the governorship seat of Imo State as another contestant has joined the PDP candidate to challenge the victory of re-elected governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
In a petition filed to the Governorship Election Tribunal of Imo State against the election of Okorocha, the petitioner, Charles Osita Nnadi among other allegations claimed that the total number of votes cast in most polling units in the state are greater than the total number of registered voters and total number of eligible voters who collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and the total number of accredited voters in question.
It would be recalled that PDP candidate, Emeka Ihedioha had kick-started the challenge against Okorocha’s victory when he went to the tribunal. In EPT/IM/Gov/2/2015 Nnadi and African Peoples Alliance, APA as petitioners and Okorocha, APC, and INEC as respondents in supplying facts of the petition stated “that the total number of votes cast in most polling units, particularly Ideato North, Ideato South, Aboh Mbaise, Ahiazu Mbaise, Oru East, Orsu, Obowo, Mbaitoli, Ikeduru, Okigwe, Nkwerre, Nwangele and Njaba Local Government Areas of Imo State are greater than the total number of registered voters who collected their PVCs and the total number of accredited voters in the areas in question.”
Also providing grounds for the petition, Nnadi through his lawyer I.C. Onwukwe of Godwins Chambers averred that the election was invalid by a reason of corrupt practices and non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act as the April 11, 2015 and subsequent Supplementary election of April 25, 2015 “were marred and vitiated by substantial non-compliance with statutory requirements, irregularities, corrupt practices, fraud, illegal voting and mutilation of election result sheets that substantially affected the election and consequently none of the candidates was entitled to be declared winner of the said election, and the election should have been nullified.”
The petitioner in the claims before the tribunal said, “there were cases of snatching of ballot boxes, illegal voting and snatching of election result sheets by thugs/agents of the 1st and 2nd respondents (Okorocha and APC) respectively and the 3rd respondent, INEC, through the agents who served as Electoral Officers (EOs), Assistant Electoral Officers (AEOs), Supervisory Presiding Officers (SPOs), Presiding Officers (POs) and Assistant Presiding Officers (APOs).”
Nnadi in the petition further accused Okorocha and his agents of indulging in illegal buying and selling of PVCs through which they allegedly induced and procured illegal and unlawful votes across the state contrary to the provisions of the Electoral Act.
In a related development, the three cases so far recorded against Okorocha’s victory have entrenched shivers down the spines of Okorocha’s camp as uncertainty awaits the outcome of the petitions.
In a panicky manner, Okorocha’s media team responded to the challenge posed by Ihedioha when in a recent statement it noted that Okorocha will reply in counter-claims to determine how the PDP candidate would garner half of all the votes he got in the election from only three LGAs.
According to the SA Media, Sam Onwuemeodo, if not for alleged snatching of ballot boxes and utter falsification, Ihedioha would have suffered defeat in his Ward courtesy of Okorocha’s popularity.
