Sunday night’s mild drama snowballed into a full-blown controversy earlier today when Professor Innocent Ibeabuchi, the returning officer for Imo West Senatorial District, said he was held hostage at the polling centre for days, Igbere Tv reports.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) returning officer, said this while announcing the results of the senatorial election for the zone.
Before announcing the figures at the district collation centre in the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) Office in Orlu, Mr. Innocent Ibeabuchi, said he was being held “under duress” to announce the results.
According to the official, he said; “My name is Ibeabuchi Izuchukwu Innocent, a professor at the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), the returning officer for Imo West (Orlu) senatorial zone”
“My area commander; my P.Os; the party agents here present; members of the press; ladies and gentlemen.
“I have been held hostage here for days so I’m trying to ease off and take my life home back to my children and for the sake of that I am calling these results under duress,” the returning officer said.
He then starts the announcement of the results.
THE DRAMA
After announcing nine out of 12 local government areas that made up the zone, Mr Ibeabuchi paused. The time was 9:45 p.m Sunday.
Three LGA results were being awaited to finalise results for Imo west district. They are Oru West, Ugwuta and Orlu.
The outgoing governor of the state, Rocha Okorocha who ran under the All Progressives Congress (APC) won in eight of the nine local governments announced earlier.
Mr Ibeabuchi said he received an urgent call from the state’s Resident Electoral Commission (REC), Francis Ezeonu, to return to Owerri and continue the process Monday morning.
But Mr Okorocha’s supporters insisted the returning officer “must complete” the announcement, “otherwise, he is not going anywhere.”
They blocked the professor from leaving the building. They refused to yield even when police officers intervened.
For hours, the APC agents who initially hauled verbal threats at the returning officer resorted to ...for full gist visit https://www.dorisnelsblog.com/2019/02/inec-returning-officer-i-was-forced-to.html