Labour Party (LP) candidate in the November 11 governorship election in Imo State Senator Athan Achonu, on Thursday, led party supporters to protest at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to demand for the release of certified true copy (CTC) of the result of the election.
Achonu and his supporters who arrived the INEC headquarters by 12:27 PM, said they would occupy the commission’s office until they were attended to.
He told journalists that he wrote to INEC since November 13 requesting for the release of the CTC to enable him file his petition against the outcome of the election in court.
“We are saying that there was no election in Imo State. Collation started even when voting was going on.
“It took INEC two days to announce the result of election in Bayelsa State with only eight local government, but the result of Imo State election with 27 local government was announced within two hours.
“When our state chairman complained and demanded to see the backend of the BVAS machine, he was humiliated and beaten, today, he is on wheel chair.
“Yet the result of the election was declared under such circumstance,” he lamented.
Two INEC National Commissioners, Mallam Mohammed Haruna and Prof. Abdullahi Abdu Zuru, who came to receive them, commended them for their peaceful conduct.
Haruna who spoke on behalf of the commission, told Achonu that CTC is his right and would be given to him.
But his appeal that the candidate should go to Imo State for his CTC, “because CTC is normally collected at state level,” was rejected by Achonu who insisted on going inside with them to collect it.
After an interval, Achonu said he was told by the Secretary to the Commission to come back by 3PM for the CTC.
The LP candidate in the letter by his lawyer, Gregory Ugbong, made 37 requests, including the release of Forms EC8, EC17, EC25, and EC40, as well as ballot papers, voters registers and all other electoral forms and materials used for the election in all the 27 LGAs.
