The Hope Uzodimma Campaign Organisation (HUCO) has described the candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) for Imo West Senatorial in the last general elections, Osita Izunaso, as a serial liar “whose desperation to become the Senate President is blackmailing the APC leadership” to reverse the will of Orlu people who overwhelmingly voted for Senator Hope Uzodimma at the election.

HUCO was apparently reacting to the claim that the Imo State chapter of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) was allegedly conniving with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to frustrate the APC at the Electoral tribunal.

The Director General of HUCO and Chairman of Senatorial Council, Orlu Zone, Dr. Christopher Osuala told journalists in Abuja at that Izunaso and his group “in their series of blackmail, have now resorted to descend on the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Imo State and the INEC, crying foul where nothing exists.”

He said: “From 2007-2011, Osita Izunaso was the Senator representing Orlu Zone on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but due to his poor performance, Orlu people out rightly rejected him (Izunaso) in 2011 and elected a new political icon-Senator Hope Uzodimma, making it the first time an incumbent will lose to a new entrant.”

According to him, because of Uzodimma’s effective representation of Orlu Zone at the National Assembly, he won 11 out of 12 Local Government Areas that make up the zone in the last election.

He added that Uzodimma only conceded defeat in Oru-West after he leant that Izunaso had allegedly rigged in Ohakpu ward where he allocated 2,000 rigged votes to himself.

“If not for Izunaso’s rigging, Senator Hope Uzodimma would have won the entire 12 Local Government Areas in Orlu Zone,” he said.

Osuala said information at the disposal of HUCO revealed that “Izunaso and his group from Monday, August 3, 2015 to Thursday, August 6, 2015 had been at the INEC Office in Owerri, Imo State examining and purportedly recounting electoral materials without the supervision of neither INEC officers nor PDP representatives.

“Despite this anomaly, information reaching us indicates that after their recount of 10 Local Government Areas in the Izunaso’s supervised recount, Senator Hope Uzodimma led Izunaso by 70,000 votes and this untimely is the reason for their frustration hence the black mail and false alarm,” the DG said.

“Already, people involved in the process have advised Izunaso to accept defeat if he believes in democracy because anybody with sufficient knowledge of Imo Politics will admit that if the election is repeated ten times between Izunaso and Uzodimma, the latter will floor Izunaso ten times as Uzodimma is a grassroots politician with mass appeal,” he added.

•Photo shows Osita Izunaso.

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