The Administrative Secretary of INEC in Abia state, Barr Clement Oha says, despite the blackmail against it, INEC conducted the 2023 elections in the state strictly in accordance with the INEC guidelines and provisions of the Electoral Act.
Oha stated this Thursday against statements by two undisclosed political parties and others who alleged that INEC was given millions of naira to favour undisclosed party or parties and urged the INEC blackmailers to withdraw their allegations, stating that the blackmail went rife in the state until the results were announced and jubilations erupted.
“Despite the allegations, the state INEC insisted on following the INEC guidelines and provisions of the Electoral Act in the conduct of the 2023 elections and came out with results lauded and accepted widely in the state. The results of the elections which he said have been acclaimed by many stakeholders and across the political parties has proved the impartiality of INEC”, he said.
Speaking during the presentation of Certificates of Return, CoR to the 24 state house of assembly-elects, Oha said that the spread of results testified to INEC impartiality adding that PDP won eleven seats, Labour Party, LP – ten, Young Progressives Party, YPP – two and APC one seat in the state house polls.
Also speaking, the Representative of professor Mahmood Yakubu and the INEC National Chairman, Barrister Festus Okoye while addressing the state assembly members-elect before they were presented with their CoR at the Ochendo International Conference Center in Umuahia, said that doing so was as provided by Section 72 (1) of the Electoral Act.
According to him, democracy can thrive only if the people protect their mandate adding that great responsibility is also attached to it and advised those that aspire to be Speaker of the House that they must seek and get the consent of the twenty-three other members.
in their acceptance speech, the spokesman of the 24 members – elect Chief Ibekwe Chidi Nnamdi, PDP, representing Bende North Constituency described the result of the 2023 election in the state as a paradigm shift, stating that the absence of Igbo core values stalled Igbo development, hence the need for them to work in unity towards promoting and harnessing the state endowments.
