1,200 APGA Loyalists Storm Govt House, Urge Soludo to Reject Rigged Primary in Oyi LGA
Over 1,200 All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, faithful from Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State on Friday stormed the State Government House in Awka to appeal to Governor Charles Soludo to reject the outcome of what they described as electoral fraud in the LGA’s House of Assembly primary.
The APGA faithful from Oyi, comprising youths and elders, protested to the governor, demanding the restoration of the mandate allegedly given to Hon. Innocent Ojike, which they said was stolen by enemies of the party.
They alleged that some individuals misinformed the governor about events that never occurred.
According to the protesters, the member representing Oyi LGA in the Anambra State House of Assembly, Hon. Innocent Ojike, alias Ojicam won the primary election, which was publicly declared to the hearing of everyone.
They said it was regrettable that, two days after the declaration, another person was announced the winner, which they described as ridiculous.
They vowed to resist any attempt to foist an unpopular person on the people of Oyi LGA.
During the protest, they carried various placards with inscriptions such as: “Soludo, Protect APGA Integrity” “Soludo, Save APGA in Oyi” “Stop Subversion of Democracy and People’s Will” “Return Ojicam’s Mandate” “Our Votes Must Count” “We Demand Justice, Not Political Fraud” “Restore the People’s Mandate” and “Soludo must Hear the Cry of the Oyi People”.
Addressing the representative of the governor, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Anambra State Government, Dr. Vincent Egbuna Okechi, a stakeholder from Oyi, Chief Uchenna Oraegbunam, said the electoral fraud, if allowed, would destroy APGA in Oyi.
Oraegbunam, who is the State APGA Treasurer, said they were at the Government House to inform the governor of a high-level, orchestrated electoral fraud that took place during the election in Oyi LGA.
According to him, in Oyi, some government officials conspired to subvert the will of the people.
He said that at Ward 4, his ward, 230 voters were accredited for the House of Assembly, Senate, and House of Representatives elections.
According to him, in his ward, Innocent Ojike scored 179 votes while Kosidochukwu Ibemesi scored 45 votes.
“During the primary election, the winner of the House of Assembly seat was declared at the council headquarters in the presence of the Mayor of Oyi LGA and other party stakeholders. Two days after, another result was declared. In the new results for Nteje Ward 4, we discovered Ibemesi scored 425 votes while the total accredited voters were 230. The same person conducted accreditation for Senate, House of Representatives, and House of Assembly, and only 230 voters were recorded. We do not know where the numbers came from,” he asked.
He said the result declared after two days was not the wish of the people of Oyi LGA and would not be accepted.
“We must protect our votes. People came out under the sun and voted for their choice. Some people went to the governor and lied to him about what never happened. We have documented evidence of our results. Let them produce evidence of their results. Let them provide evidence where Ibemesi scored 425 votes. Let anyone come out with video evidence; we have ours,” he said.
He said all election materials were provided and distributed by the Mayor of Oyi LGA and that he witnessed the declared result, which favored Ojike, at the council headquarters.
According to him, they are pleading with the governor, as the party leader, to restore the people’s mandate in Oyi LGA.
He said they do not want people to destroy APGA in Oyi LGA for selfish reasons.
Also speaking, another stakeholder, Barr. Innocent Kelechi, PhD, said he is from Ward 5 in Nteje, Oyi LGA, and that the election in their ward was peaceful and Ojike was declared winner before everyone.
“Before the primary, our leader, Prof. Charles Soludo, promised us a free, fair, and credible election. Regrettably, what happened in Oyi was electoral fraud that cannot be allowed to stand. We have all documentary evidence and the process of election in Ward 5. In the results declared at Ward 5, Ojike scored 318 votes and Ibemesi had 136 votes. It was only one electoral officer who conducted and signed all the election result sheets for the House of Assembly, House of Representatives, and Senate. He declared the result from the ward and Ojike was the winner,” he said.
According to him, after some days they came to learn that Ibemesi scored 420 votes and Ojike scored 90 votes, which never happened.
He said they were at the Government House to inform Governor Soludo about high-level electoral fraud and to ask him to intervene and restore the integrity of APGA in Oyi.
“In Oyi LGA, some government officials are complicit in the electoral fraud in the LGA by subverting the wishes of the people,” he said.
Responding to the protesters, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor, Dr. Vincent Egbuna Okechi, urged the party faithful to remain calm and trust the governor for justice.
He said that as party faithful, they ought to have written to the governor and the State Party Chairman rather than embarrassing the party publicly.
However, they replied that they had written to the governor and the State Chairman but had received no response yet.
He collected the petition from the protesters for onward delivery to the governor.
Okechi also said they were supposed to have exhausted the internal party dispute resolution channels before going public.
