Intersociety Joins Obiano In Opposing Imo As Inec’s Storage Facilities, Strongly Warns Against Repeat Of Scientific Rigging
Onitsha, Eastern Nigeria, Friday, 10th Sept 2021: The Int’l Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law is strongly aligning itself this time around with Gov William Obiano of Anambra State in rejecting the latest announcement by the Independent National Electoral Commission of its conclusion to use Imo State for storage of its sensitive and non-sensitive electoral materials for the Nov 6, 2021 Anambra Governorship Election. The Commission had cited the burning of the Commission’s Headquarters in Awka, Anambra State by some non state actor gunmen as a reason to use Imo State for storage of its materials for the all-important Poll. The decision by the integrity challenged Electoral Commission is therefore strongly condemned, rejected and a must reversible. Intersociety hereby aligns itself with Gov William Obiano who announced total rejection of same and gave several salient reasons why use of Imo as storage facilities must not be allowed.
We also see INEC’s latest ‘forced revelation’ as the handiwork of God who must have forced the Commission to publicly disclose the clear-cut rigging strategy. This is more so when going by the indices on the ground, there are no credible and circumstantial reasons why Imo State should be chosen or considered as ‘INEC’s alternative storage facilities’. By proximity, Imo State is totally out because Enugu State is closer while Delta State is closest. By demography, geopolitics, history and facilities, Enugu is more considered. Anambra also has a well built and protective Central Bank of Nigeria structure-a stone throw from the State’s INEC secretariat at Awka. By mileage, Asaba, the Capital City of Delta State is about ten minutes drive from Anambra State and if measured from Asaba to Awka, the Capital City of Anambra State, it is less than one hour drive, same if measured from Awka to Enugu; as against over two hours’ drive from Awka to Owerri.
By democracy, governance and securitization, Imo State has earned the inglorious status of a rogue federating Unit or State in the entire Eastern Nigeria. That is to say that the State is not only insecure and roguishly democratized but also a virus State under Gov Hope Uzodimma. Most importantly, since democracy sacredly belongs to the people of nobility and conscientious men and women and geared towards decent and peaceful society, Imo State is totally unfit and a meddlesome interloper in matters of credible election and institution of democratic government powered by popular, participatory and credible electoral process. The State, therefore, must not be allowed to have anything whatsoever to do with the conduct of the Nov 6 2021 Anambra Governorship Poll. INEC is hereby strongly called upon to distance itself from having anything to do with Imo State in the Nov 6 Anambra Governorship Election-whether by storage of voting materials or movement of its career and non-career electoral officers from the State to Anambra.
Warning Against Repeat Of The 2017 Scientific Rigging: In the Nov 2017 Governorship Election in Anambra State, INEC’s ICT Department was independently found to have heavily compromised and its ‘industrial scale scientific manipulations’ involved: (a) syndicated procurement of voters’ cards from vulnerable voters ahead of the poll and uploading of same on election day in the INEC servers as “uploaded validly cast votes” followed by massive and clandestine thump-printing of ballot papers in secret places on the Eve of the election and on the day of same for purpose of tallying them with electronically uploaded roguish figures for purpose of poll litigations; and (b) mangling the opposing candidates’ votes leading to the number of accredited voters not tallying with the total votes cast including rejected and voided votes; and as officially announced by INEC, “over 8,540 accredited voters did not vote in the Nov 2017 Anambra Governorship Poll”.
Similar sharp practices were the case with the Commission during the 2019 general polls particularly the presidential and the state assembly polls in Anambra State. INEC’s direct and indirect electoral manipulations then had included abandonment of authenticated results from the polling booths especially those in Form ECAs, hired disruption of collection and signing of results at polling booths’ generated Form ECAs or hijacking of signed result sheets on their way to ward and LGA electoral centers, tempering and corruption of card readers, non accreditation of voters, non or late arrival of electoral personnel and materials, burning or tearing of recorded result sheets, disruption of voting, INEC’s indoor mangling and falsification of returned results, sponsored violence and deliberate creation of security tensions or artificial insecurity to scare away independent voters, etc.
INEC is therefore not only warned against the repeat of the above highlighted sharp practices but also urged to tell the Anambra People how many of them that are credibly cleared to vote in the Nov 6 Governorship Election, especially those with valid PVCs including their names and number as well as those recently captured as ‘eligible voters’ and the number issued with PVCs or otherwise. The Anambra Public must also be told traceably the locations of the State’s new ‘5,720’ polling units or booths and electoral wards where they are located. This is to independently ensure that polling booths are not created and located in the houses and sanctuaries of politicians and their cronies or foot soldiers. Anambra votes must count come Nov 6!
Signed:
For: International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law
Principal Officers: Emeka Umeagbalasi, Chinwe Umeche Esq., Obianuju Igboeli Esq., Chidimma Udegbunam, Esq.
Contacts: Phone/WhatsApp: +2348174090052, Email: [email protected] , Website: https://intersociety-ng.org