Ebonyi State Governor, Engr. David Nweze Umahi, has said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has no reason to rig any election in the state.

Umahi, at the grand finale of the First Akubaraoha Urban Day celebration in Abakaliki on Saturday, restated that PDP was the party to beat in the state.

He spoke against the backdrop of insinuations in some quarters, especially the opposition, that he appointed Senior Technical Assistants and Technical Assistants to rig elections.

He said: “Honestly, we made no mistake in appointing our TAs and STAs. They have become the backbone of our administration. When we appointed them, somebody said we appointed them to rig elections. We have no reason to rig election because we compete with nobody for we came in the name of the Lord.”

Umahi, according a statement on Sunday by his Chief Press Secretary, Emma Anya, ordered that all the councillorship aspirants disqualified without cogent reason should be rescreened to provide a level playing field for all contestants.

The Governor also ordered that male aspirants vying for councillorship position in wards designated as female wards should be allowed to stand for election to ensure peace and harmony at the grassroots level.

“I have ordered that all the people that were screened out, the councillorship aspirants should be rescreened. All those who were screened out must be rescreened. For anybody to be screened out there must be tangible reason for the person to be screened out. And that must be completed within Saturday and Sunday.”

“We want to do everything to have peace at our ward level and if your ward was designated to be woman ward and some men have bought forms there, they must not be screened out they must be allowed to stand election,” Umahi added.

He warned against imposition of candidates on the people, adding that the electorate should be allowed to choose candidates of their choice.

The Governor who told the gathering that comprised members of town unions residing in the state capital and clerics that his wife (Rachael) and himself had no candidates for the April 22 Local Government polls, emphasised that the democratic culture where the popular candidate wins should be maintained.

“There is no imposition. There is no anarchy. We want the best from the villagers to represent us at the ward level and let me announce and warn, my wife has no candidate; I have no candidate and so, if two of us have no candidate, nobody will have any preferred candidate. Everybody must go and stand election. If you’re popular and acceptable to the people you should emerge.”

He directed that stakeholders should go to other senatorial zones to monitor the primary election and advised the security agents to be careful in wards where there are more than one candidate standing for election.

“Stakeholders will not be in their wards. If we found any stakeholder in his ward on Monday, we will place a sanction. We want our leaders to move round to other wards outside their senatorial zones to do the primaries,” the governor stated.

Governor Umahi, who said he had accepted to run in 2019, promised to complete the dualisation of the Ezzamgbo-Abakaliki section of the Enugu-Abakaliki Expressway and the Abakaliki-Afikpo Road without delay if he wins.

On his part, the Chairman of the occasion and former Governor of the state, Dr. Sam Egwu, commended the organisers of the event for using it to reunite the people living in the state capital. He called for the sustenance of the nation’s culture.

The Governor and his wife were conferred with chieftaincy titles of Ome Nke Afurunanya 1 and Oso Di Eme 1 of Ebonyi State.

•Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State being addressed by the Chairman of the state traditional rulers council before he was presented with Ome nke ahurunaya title during the Ist Akubaraoha Urban Day celebration at the Abakaliki Township Stadium in Abakaliki on Saturday.

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