Linus Okoroe, the Labour Party, LP, Senatorial candidate for Ebonyi South has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of stealing his mandate for the governor of the state, Dave Umahi.
In his swift response to Okorie, the governor said he will sue the LP candidate to court to prove his allegation of mandate theft, adding that Okorie is trying to influence a matter that’s already before the state’s election tribunal.
The electoral umpire declared Umahi winner of the February 25 Senatorial election.
But the LP candidate said during a media chat with journalists in Abakaliki, the state’s capital that he’s the true winner of the election, that INEC robbed him by declaring Umahi winner, adding that the governor was not even qualified to contest the election having failed to win the All Progressives Congress, APC, primaries conducted by INEC.
Okorie said he’s “the presumed winner of the Ebonyi south senatorial zone election, conducted on 25th February 2023, irrespective of the fact that the Independent National electoral commission, INEC, announced APC candidate, David Umahi as a winner.
“I still don’t accept to the extent that I’m in Election Petition Tribunal to retrieve that mandate. I consider that mandate as a stolen mandate and I’m very dedicated to retrieving it in the Court.
“An election was held on 25th of February, 2023, where Governor David Umahi is a candidate for APC and I was candidate for Labour Party, LP, and there were other candidates. His supporters including the Local Government Chairman of Onicha LGA made thugs to be known as APC members and supporters to destroy votes in polling Units within my community and my wards, and that’s the areas of my strength; where ordinarily, I’m expected to harvest the maximum number of votes, just like Umahi did in Umunaga ward, and other wards in Uburu community.
“They shot people, they burnt BVAS, they burnt ballot papers, they destroyed results in many of my ten (10) polling Units. When you put all these places including the one that happened in Isu community in Ugbogologo ward, we have over ten thousand (10,000) votes that was destroyed.
“If you go to Ivo LGA, in Ngwugwu ward, in the ward collations and after tabulating the results by whatever they have done, Labour Party, LP, which is my Party scored 551votes, while APC scored 290 votes, but instead of entering 551votea that my Party scored, they decided to enter 290 votes to be same with that of APC that scored 290 votes. Taking away 261 votes, that is stealing of votes. The BVAS is there to confirm it.
“In all of these irregularities that happened, the total results announced by INEC said he (Umahi) won me by the margin of 2882 votes. Meanwhile, we have over ten thousand votes mostly in my areas of strength, my stronghold that were destroyed by APC members.
“The law says that where the margin of lead between the 1st candidate and the 2nd candidate, is not more than the total number of the places where election didn’t hold or cancelled, that you shall not return a winner, in other words, 2882 votes compared to ten thousand (10,000) votes, nobody should be declared winner but should be declared inconclusive.
“I did a petition when I found out that they (INEC) wants to declare him (Umahi), I quoted section 24(3) of the electoral acts, which prohibits the Returning Officer from announcing that results but because of the pressure mounted on him (Returning Officer) he declared that results. Is that not stealing?”
“That INEC stole my election and that Governor David Umahi of APC, are the recipients of a stolen property. And so, INEC stole my election, then Governor David Umahi received the stolen mandate. That’s my stolen mandate. He (Umahi) is holding unto a stolen mandate” Okorie said.
Governor Umahi, the magazine recalled, had shown interest in the APC presidential primary election, but made a U-turn later to contest for senate.
This led to a serious contest among members of his party who dragged him to court, which later declared him the APC candidate for the Senatorial district.
