Linus Okorie, a senatorial candidate for the Labour Party in the Ebonyi South zone, claimed on Thursday that INEC had stolen his election and given it to David Umahi instead, the state’s outgoing governor.
Okorie, who served as the representative for the federal constituencies of Ohaozara, Onicha, and Ivo, Ohanivo in the House of Representatives, adamantly claimed to have won the election for the Ebonyi south senatorial seat on February 25, 2023.
The senatorial candidate emphasized that he (Umahi) lost the most recent primary election held by INEC ahead of the Ebonyi South Senatorial election but continued to claim that Umahi was ineligible to run for the Senate.
“I like to say that I’m the presumed winner of the Ebonyi south senatorial zone election, conducted on February 25, 2023, regardless of the fact that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared APC candidate, David Umahi as a winner,” he said.
“I continue to reject the extent to which I am in the Election Petition Tribunal seeking to reclaim that mandate. I believe that mandate was stolen, and I will do all in my power to have it returned to me in court.
“On February 25, 2023, there was an election in which Governor David Umahi, a candidate for the APC, and I, a candidate for the Labour Party, LP, were joined by other candidates. I am expected to win the most votes, just like Umahi did in Umunaga ward and other wards in the Uburu community, thanks to the efforts of his supporters, including the Local Government Chairman of Onicha LGA, who organized thugs to pose as APC members and supporters and destroy votes in polling units within my community and my wards.
“They destroyed results in several of my ten (10) polling units, shot people, burned BVAS, and ballots. In total, nearly ten thousand (10,000) votes were lost in several locations, including the one in the Isu community of the Ugbogologo ward.
If you go to Ivo LGA, in the Ngwugwu ward, in the ward collations, and after tabulating the results by whatever they did, Labour Party, LP, which is my Party scored 551 votes, while APC scored 290 votes. However, instead of entering 551 votes that my Party scored, they decided to enter 290 votes to be equal with that of APC that scored 290 votes. 261 votes were stolen, which is considered vote fraud. To verify it, the BVAS is present.
“Despite all of these errors, the INEC’s total results showed that Umahi defeated me by a margin of 2882 votes. We currently have over 10,000 votes, the majority of which were cast in my stronghold, which APC members largely demolished.
“The law states that you must not declare a winner when the lead between the first and second-place candidates is less than the total number of places where the election was canceled or did not take place. In other words, if there are 2882 votes compared to ten thousand (10,000) votes, the results should be declared inconclusive rather than a winner.
When I learned that the INEC intended to declare Umahi the winner, I filed a petition. In it, I cited section 24(3) of the electoral acts, which forbids the Returning Officer from making such an announcement. However, due to pressure, the Returning Officer made the announcement. Is that not theft?
“INEC cheated on my election, and APC Governor David Umahi is the victim of a stolen asset,” So, after INEC stole my election, Governor David Umahi was given the fraudulently obtained mandate. That’s the mandate I stole. Umahi is clinging to a mandate that was stolen, the speaker claimed.
In response, Governor David Umahi threatened to take Mr. Linus Okorie to court to demonstrate how he (Umahi) had stolen his mandate during a press conference in his office in Centenary City, Abakaliki.
I heard what Linus Okorie had to say, and I’d like to take this chance to warn him if he keeps claiming to have a stolen mandate. He has a criminal implication, so I’ll go to court to show that his mandate was stolen. Okorie is need to show who stole his mandate. And by stating so, he is somewhat influencing the Tribunal’s decision, thus I must prevent Okorie from saying that.
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