Senator Mao Ohuabunwa stated that despite the introduction of the Bi-modal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS machine, election numbers were manipulated.
He regretted that, rather than abating, election rigging had gone digital, despite the implementation of BVAS.
The former ECOWAS Parliament Leader, who ran for senator in Abia North on the Peoples Democratic Party’s platform last Saturday, claimed that, contrary to prior promises by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, election results were not uploaded via the BVAS to the INEC server.
According to him, the purposeful delay and refusal to do so allowed for the manipulation of poll results at the different collation centers.
Ohuabunwa, speaking at a press conference in Umuahia, accused INEC of using BVAS to fool innocent contestants who thought the innovation would help in checkmate rigging, not knowing it had made things worse.
” I assumed BVAS would assist to reduce rigging, but rigging is worse than ever. “We trusted BVAS without realizing there was no BVAS,” Ohuabunwa said.
He said that voting materials did not arrive in his stronghold of Arochukwu and Ohafia federal constituency until around 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, leading to the late start of polls.
” I fully reject the result of Abia North senate election and I ask for a fresh exercise”.
Ohuabunwa cited non-use of BVAS in election results collation, purposeful disenfranchisement of his supporters, and reliance on manual collation as reasons for rejecting the results.
He claimed there was no election in over 100 polling units in his stronghold, alleging that it was manufactured in order to disenfranchise his supporters and, eventually, depress his votes.
He further regretted that, despite the fact that voters in the affected regions reconvened on Monday, February 27 for a re-run election as mandated by INEC, the Returning Officer hastened to declare the results in violation of the Electoral Act.
Ohuabunwa, who stated that the number of voters in the disenfranchised units exceeded 60,000, greatly exceeding the margin of victory, asked for the cancellation of the whole election and an inquiry of the Returning Officer, whom he accused of conspiring.
Senator Ohuabunwa, who stated that he had already filed a complaint with INEC, stated that he would look into other legal avenues to seek redress.
Dr Eme Okoro, the immediate-past Secretary to the Abia State Government, who was present at the briefing, expressed total disappointment with the Returning Officer’s action in the Abia North senatorial election.
He warned INEC not to collude with any dark power in order to undermine the will of the people.
Okoro accused INEC of deceiving the public using BVAS, accusing the election umpire of breaching the trust placed in him.
Similarly, former Small and Medium Businesses Commissioner Gab Igboko said that the results collected from polling stations differed from those manually collated by INEC, implying widespread manipulation.
The contest was won by Senate Chief Whip Orji Uzor Kalu of the All Progressive Congress, APC, according to the Returning Officer.
Disclaimer
The provided information is intended for general awareness and may not be entirely accurate or up-to-date. The post disclaims any warranties regarding the completeness, accuracy, or reliability of the content, services, or graphics on the website. It advises caution when using the information for any purpose.