PDP Slams Okorocha Over Imo Assembly Rerun
SAN FRANCISCO, July 03, (THEWILL) – The ruling Peoples Democratic Party has accused the Imo State governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, of desperately attempting to truncate the wish of the people in the recent Imo State Assembly rerun, describing his actions as shamelessly undemocratic.
PDP, in a statement issued on Wednesday by its acting National Publicity Secretary, Tony Caesar Okeke, said it was unfortunate that Okorocha deployed thugs whose violent activities disrupted elections in parts of the constituency when he discovered that the PDP was in clear lead.
The statement said the blatant attempt by the governor and his party, the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), to allegedly rig the election and the subsequent sustained bizarre efforts by them to unilaterally declare an allegedly fraudulent election result even after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared same inconclusive, is a window into the jaundiced. disposition of the opposition to free and fair elections.
“The Imo State governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha, needs to urgently retrace his steps; advise himself and halt this rapid, rabid descent into barefaced dictatorship.
"Unfortunately and shamefully too, authoritarianism is fast nibbling away the hard won democracy in the Eastern Heartland, with Okorocha furiously dancing naked to this macabre beats with his two ears shut, " the statement said.
It added that it was only desperation that could force a sitting governor to run from pillar to post, ridiculing himself and his office with “cooked election results”.
According to the PDP statement, “The governor’s attempt to browbeat the alertness of the people of Oguta and force INEC to shirk its responsibilities failed woefully. Understandably, INEC had in a statement today expressed huge ‘disappointment at the culture of thuggery, intolerance and unruly conduct’ of APGA at the elections."
The PDP also said the successive Oguta rerun election in which it has continued to show electoral superiority despite intimidation and various acts of violence by the APGA-led Imo State Government is a clear indication of the acceptance of the party in Imo State and Nigeria in general.
The statement advised the Imo State governor and the opposition to take clue from President Goodluck Jonathan whose principled stand on bequeathing a legacy of credible elections must be supported by all, adding that democracy can only gain firm footing in the country with the cooperation of leaders at all levels.