.SAYS IMO ELECTORATE READY TO DEFEND THEIR VOTES
Senator Athan Achonu, candidate of the Labour Party, LP in the forthcoming governorship election in Imo State has said that any attempt to manipulate results of the poll would amount to effort in futility.
He also warned those intending to rig the election in favour of their preferred candidate to forgo the intention as people are conscious and ready more than ever before to protect their votes.
Achonu, popularly known as ‘One Arm General’ stated while fielding questions from newsmen in Owerri regarding the scheduled November 11th governorship election in the state.
According to him, “the coming Imo governorship election is going to be a stand-alone election and hence, all eyes would be on every actor involved including the security, INEC, and others.”
He said, “This is a stand-alone election. It has never taken place before so expect something new to happen and nobody will rig us out. Labour Party has won without firing a shot.
“Also, It is an insult to say that Hope Uzodimma gave me money to sponsor me in this election how can that be? I have invested billions of naira so how can Hope sponsor me?
“I have invested billions in this state and the government frustrated it. The 10-story hotel building has been stopped by the government. I obtained a license to build a refinery and industrial layout in Imo and the government constructed a road to block my investment and many more.
“My partners are saying that before they can come into Imo state, they need a governor who is development oriented. Just like we have gotten it right in Abia state, we need it in Imo state and I am development oriented. I am right person for this job.”
He continued, “On the issue of security, immediately I become governor, I will introduce local security because every security is local, and with that, our people will be involved in the business of securing their lives.
“And another thing, we must do away with this siege mentality. At every junction you see security checkpoint is not the best way for us.”
On how he intend to protect his votes during the election, Achonu said: “You saw what happened in the last election, if not the amount of money shared by the government in the last election and even at that, you saw they lost. The labour party won.
“They shared thousands of dollars. I told our people to collect the money and vote according to their conscience. They listened to me and it happened that way.”
