Anambra South bye-election: CSOs want REC removed over alleged bias

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By Madu Obi

Barely five days to the Anambra South senatorial bye-election to replace the late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, the coalition of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the state has raised the alarm over alleged plot by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to manipulate and rig the election.

Specifically, the CSOs alleged that the Anambra INEC, through the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, has prepared the results of the senatorial election in favour of a particular candidate and only waiting to announce it.

Anambra State chairman of the of the CSOs, Mr Chukwumah Okeke and the Secretary, Mr Felix Okechukwu, in a terse statement made available to journalists in Awka, asked the INEC chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, to remove the Anambra INEC REC immediately in order to protect the integrity of Saturday’s senatorial bye-election and save the electoral body from avoidable embarrassment.

They also urged the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) to intervene on behalf of the political parties in the matter and save the situation in Anambra from taking a dangerous dimension.

The statement read, “ We are stakeholders in Anambra State politics and we are familiar with the political situation in the state. We can also state with high sense of responsibility that we are in full support of credible and fair poll before, during and after the forthcoming Senatorial bye-election in the state on Saturday.

But we are getting dangerous signal about the infamous action of the Anambra INEC REC, Queen Elizabeth Agwu, over her sinister bid to sabotage credible poll on Saturday and achieve predetermined results in favour of a candidate.

That is why we are raising the alarm over the plot of Anambra INEC REC to rig the forthcoming election for a particular candidate as she has prepared the results in favour of the choice candidate, with a bid to announce the candidate as the winner of the poll, regardless of actual voting on Saturday.

"We are therefore calling on the INEC chairman, Prof Mahmoud Yakubu, to remove the Anambra INEC REC before Saturday’s poll in order to restore confidence and integrity on the electoral body.

“Anything short of Agwu’s removal by INEC chairman will lead to avoidable consequences and monumental failure on the part of INEC to conduct credible senatorial by-election on Saturday.

"We need a new INEC REC to conduct the forthcoming senatorial by-election in Anambra State to ensure credible poll and avoid unnecessary and costly litigations arising from electoral fraud and manipulation".

The CSOs further called on IPAC to rise to the occasion and intervene on behalf of other parties, saying that IPAC cannot sit on the fence and allow manipulation and rigging to take centre stage in Anambra during the forthcoming senatorial bye-election in the state .

The time has come for IPAC to speak on this matter. IPAC must take up this issue with the INEC chairman and ensure the removal of Agwu because her agenda is to ensure victory for a particular candidate", the CSOs said.