•Demands original results of Imo West senatorial Zone

By CHARLES IWUOHA

Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC), the youth wing of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, has accused Imo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Professor Sylvia Uchenna Agu, of rigging the February 25,2023 elections in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Orlu zone (Imo west).

OYC alleged in a statement on Friday by its President, Comrade Igboayaka O. Igboayaka, that the REC manipulated the Imo West Senatorial election (Orlu zone) results, an alleged action he condemned.

The OYC President alleged that he witnessed the electoral process within the Zone where he hails from, adding that there was no election in Orlu, Oru-East, Orsu, parts of Oru-West and Ohaji Egbema.

He further alleged that results that emanated from Isu, Njaba, Nkwerre Nwangele, Ideato North/Ideato South and Oguta, showed that Labour Party won with a landslide, but different results were manufactured from areas elections did not take place to favour the APC candidate.

“We have strong feelings that upturning the mandate of Ndigbo given freely to Labour Party in Orlu Zone must have gone with exchange of thousands of dollars, it can't be ordinary,” Igboayaka noted.

“We gathered also that at about 1pm on February 25, Prof Sylvia Uchenna Agu was yet to give order for INEC electoral officials to move election materials to Wards and Polling Units, especially in Orlu and Orsu LGAs,” he added.

According to Igboayaka, the REC, by allegedly rigging the Imo West Senatorial Zone election, “has provoked and frustrated the unemployed and aggressive Igbo youths and, Orlu youths in particular, who saw 2023 as an opportunity to retire non-performing politicians of Igbo extraction arising from poor representation at National Assembly.

“Imo REC, must as a matter of urgency reflect on the consequences of her electoral fraud and amend her errors within seven days by giving Ndigbo a result that reflects their wish as expressed during the February 25th National Assembly election,” he demanded.