The opposition political party in Imo State, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as well as some political commentators in the state have said that the Imo State Government and the All Progressives Congress(APC) have concluded plans to rig the forthcoming local government election, scheduled on September 21, 2024.
They said that what happened during the last Imo House of Assembly election where the APC government said that it won all the 27 seats in the Imo State House of Assembly will repeat itself.
But the government has come out to say that it has no plan to rig the forthcoming local government election as alleged by some people or the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the state.
The government further stated that it was going to have a landslide victory at the polls, saying that Governor Hope Uzodinma’s quantum of people-oriented projects across the state, will it make possible for the APC to have overwhelming success in the election.
Declan Emelumba, the state Commissioner for Information, Public Orientation and Strategy, who this, added, that it was very insulting for PDP to accuse the Governor of “smuggling an already written results to ISIEC”.
Emelumba who was responding to a press statement by Lancelot Obiaku, the PDP Publicity Secretary, that the government was set to rig the election, dismissed such a statement, and described PDP as a failed party, which is now in tatters, and ill-prepared for the election.
“PDP is in tatters. It is best remembered in Imo State today as a failed party. They know already that they can not win a single ward in the State, that is why they are crying wolf, trying to discredit an election that is yet to hold, ” he said.
He noted that APC was not only strong in Imo State but very formidable and impregnable as evidenced in the superlative performance it posted during last November’s governorship election in the State.
“APC won in all the 27 local government areas of the State. PDP could not even win the local government of their governorship candidate. After dragging APC to all the courts, the Supreme Court still affirmed that His Excellency, Governor Hope Uzodinma, won fair and square.”
He said no governor with such a record will descend low to rig a local government election, more so when APC is firmly rooted in the grassroots of the state.
Emelumba also made it clear that ISIEC remains truly independent and would therefore conduct a credible, free, and fair local government election come September 21, 2024.
He said those entertaining doubts as to the credibility of the state electoral body already know that they will lose the election.
“It is a well-known trademark of PDP to raise false alarm about imaginary rigging of an election because failure is their constant companion,” he said.
He called on the Imo electorate to ignore the antics of a “drowning Party” and vote massively for APC as a guarantee of more democratic dividends in the state, especially at the grassroots.
