Give me my certificate of return with immediate effect, Okorocha tells INEC

-
Posted By Tony Okechukwu
Subsequent to the refusal of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognize him as a Senator-elect, Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, Wednesday asked the commission to hand him over his certificate.

Okorocha, who had been declared winner Imo West senatorial election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, noted that the commission cannot seize his certificate because of a mere petition against him.
The Returning Officer for the election, Prof Francis Ibeawuchi, declared Okorocha as the winner of the poll, having polled 97,762 votes ahead of his closest rival, Jones Onyereri of the Peoples Democratic Party, who had 68,117 votes.
However, Ibeawuchi later claimed he was forced to declare Okorocha as the winner to save his life, hence the commission’s decision not to issue a certificate of return to him.
Some of Okorocha’s supporters marched to the government house to protest.
The Imo state Governor speaking said, “I wonder why INEC will withhold my certificate for a frivolous reason, without hearing from me. I am not a violent person and those who know me know that,” he said.
“This is why we have peace in Imo state. The Returning Officer could not have done that under duress under the watchful eyes of the Police, DSS and party agents. I am not unmindful of the fact that those who are fighting me from Abuja are anxious to see me removed as a senator. I urge INEC to do the right thing immediately by releasing my certificate.
“Let me tell every Nigerian that I fought no one and no one should fight me. If anyone fights me, he will be the loser at the end of it all. My INEC Certificate cannot be touched or seized, doing so is belittling democracy in Nigeria.
“It is only the tribunal that has the right to say otherwise once a result is declared. INEC cannot seize my certificate by mere petition written by somebody in a case I was not given the opportunity to present my own side of the story.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fayemi Defrays #31 Billion Debt Inherited From Fayose

-
Image
·        …Says 2020 ‘ll be year of life-changing projects Posted by Tony Okechukwu Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi on Wednesday disclosed that his administration has defrayed #31,105, 658,370.89 amounting to 26% of the total debt inherited by his administration from the immediate past government of Mr. Ayodele Fayose. Delivering a state of the State address at the State House of Assembly, the governor said the sum was expended to defray salaries, pension, gratuity, subvention arrears and contractual claims and obligations owed by Fayose. Fayemi however assured that despite the burden of inherited debts, the year 2020 would witness a massive commissioning of projects and institutionalizing of more life-changing programmes. The governor who described the failure of the immediate past government to meet its obligations to workers and pensioners as a violation of fundamental human rights stated that his administration is focusing ...
Read more

GOs Protest Fraudulent Election Results in Bayelsa

-
Image
Posted By Tony Okechukwu Members of various non-governmental organisations and civil society groups in Bayelsa State, on Wednesday, staged a peaceful protest over the conduct of the Presidential and National Assembly elections in some parts of the state. Comrade Toitoi Newton of the Grassroots For Development, who led the protest to the Independent National Electoral Commission office in Yenagoa, told journalists that the CSOs demand a cancellation of the purported results from Constituency 4 in Southern Ijaw council and Nembe-Bassambiri in Nembe council where election materials were carted away. According to Comrade Newton, elections did not hold in the seven wards of Nembe-Bassambiri due to the violence orchestrated by political thugs aided by security personnel deployed in the community. He said the people were disenfranchisised as they were chased away from their communities on the day of the election. Comrade Stephen Seleke of the Advocacy for Peace also said an...
Read more

Attorny General of the Federation Clears Rift between Rival Factions of IPMAN

-
Image
By Desmond Ogudu There was wild jubilation across the rank and file of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) nationwide as the Honorable Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami in a landmark judicial release cleared the lingering ambiguity in the Supreme Court judgment of 14th December 2018. Addressing a cross-section of marketers from the Western and Northern Zones who paid him a solidarity visit, the National Deputy President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Alh. Debo Ahmed, began with congratulating His Excellency Pres. Muhammadu Buhari on his 2nd term inauguration in office and pledged the total support of the IPMAN towards his administration’s goal and objectives. He went further to assuring the teeming marketers of the Association's commitment in ensuring a total transformation in the oil and gas down stream sector of the economy. Speaking on behalf of the National President of IPMAN, ...
Read more