Imo State government on Friday called for the arrest of Ikenga Ugochinyere for blowing the whistle on the plot against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and adulteration of the Voters Register, even as it acknowledged the existence of a secret suit at an Owerri High Court seeking the nullification of the use of BVAS for the 2023 elections.
Ugochinyere, who is the spokesperson of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) alleged on Wednesday that there was a plot to use a secret suit to stop the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BIVAS) in the 2023 elections.
He also alleged that there was a plot to sack the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.
Addressing a press conference, Ugochinyere said the vigilance of the opposition, following credible intelligence, discovered the secret suit at the Owerri Federal High Court where it was filed since August 24, 2022.
The CUPP chieftain also displayed extracts of the national voters register which it claimed were part of at least 10 million fake registrations done by one of the political parties.
Ugochinyere said: “We state that the discovery we have made goes beyond the case of double registration. It is a monumental compromise of the national voters’ register by chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“The last leg of the plot is also the sack of the INEC Chairman through the courts. A plot that would be accomplished where the man insists or continues as an unbiased umpire.”
Surprisingly, in its rebuttal same day, INEC didn’t controvert the allegation but rather called for caution.
“The attention of the Commission has been drawn to a report of a press conference addressed by the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) on the Register of Voters for the 2023 general election. The Commission recognizes and respects the right of citizens, either as individuals or groups, to demand explanation from public agencies, including INEC, and to hold them accountable.
“However, it is always important that caution is exercised so that such interventions do not unwittingly sow the doubts in the public mind, thereby diminishing public confidence and trust in the electoral process,” INEC said.
In the statement signed by Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, the umpire, however, admitted that: “In Oru East Local Government Area of Imo State, where the Commission allegedly registered ineligible persons, 3,316 ineligible registrants have so far been invalidated and the process is still ongoing.”
Oru East is the local government of Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma.
In the same vein, the Imo State Commissioner for Information and Strategy Declan Emelumba lent credence to Ugochinyere’s allegation.
While acknowledge the secret suit against INEC on the use of BIVAS, Emelumba, however, blamed the former Imo State Governor, Emeka Ihedioha.
Unfortunately, an investigation into the suit-claim revealed that the NBA stamp used in filing the suit belongs to a lawyer who is a very close associate of former Governor Emeka Ihedioha, the paymaster of Ugochinyere. Therefore there is no doubt as to where the whole concoction is coming from and why,” the Commissioner alleged.
Without controverting the claims made by the CUPP chieftain, the Imo State Government surprisingly called for “the arrest and questioning of one Ikenga Ugochinyere for claiming that Voter Registration in Omuma, the home Ward of Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State was inflated with fictitious names.”
Emelumba said “ignoring the spurious and seditious outburst of Ugochinyere will amount to condoning criminality.”
He therefore called on the relevant security agencies to “immediately arrest the said Ugochinyere to find out from him how he obtained the voters register he has been parading before the public even when the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC is still at the stage of Automated Biometric Verification of Systems, which must be concluded before an official voters register can be released to the public.”
Speaking through the commissioner, Uzodimma said that “INEC has issued an official statement on the above and has gone further to list the names of the States that entered fictitious registration of voters and Imo State is not on that list.”
INEC’s statement as noted above said the contrary.
Emelumba went further to express worry that “Ugochinyere must have either hacked INEC Saver or doctored documents there-from or forged the document he was brandishing,” noting that “this is criminal and it is important that he should be immediately arrested for questioning.”
According to Emelumba, “The security agencies have an urgent task to find out how Ugochinyere, a PDP candidate in the 2023 elections for Ideato North and South Federal Constituency came about the documents which is aimed at heating up the polity, creating tension and inciting the public.”
He said the weighty allegations were a ploy to embarrass Uzodimma.
“By all intent and purposes, the show by Ugochinyere was hatched by PDP in Imo State to embarrass the Government in a vain attempt to diminish the shine from the hugely successful Presidential visit of Tuesday, 13th September, 2022 to Imo State.
“This is because it is difficult to explain why Ugochinyere released his tissue of lies just a day after the successful official visit of Mr. President to Imo State.
“It is only natural for PDP to express their dismay and devastation on the successful commissioning of the signature projects of the Governor by Mr. President and its inherent gains.”
Admitting that there is indeed a secret court action in a Federal High Court Owerri against the use of BVAS, as alleged by Ugochinyere, Uzodimma’s commissioner said that “the porous allegations against the Governor was to insinuate that the ‘secret court action’ was filed by an agent of Government.
“Unfortunately, an investigation into the suit-claim revealed that the NBA stamp used in filing the suit belongs to a lawyer who is a very close associate of former Governor Emeka Ihedioha, the paymaster of Ugochinyere. Therefore there is no doubt as to where the whole concoction is coming from and why.”
However, some Nigerians who spoke have knocked Emelumba over what they call his false claims.
“The Imo State government has just released a tissue of lies. Rather than controverting the allegations of the CUPP, Emelumba’s statement has validated them. Nigerians must be vigilant,” Mr. Nwabueze Emenike, an Imo indigene resident in Owerri said.
