Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, yesterday, pleaded with the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC) to declare him the winner of the April 11 governorship election, which the commission declared as inconclusive.
The governor accused some INEC officials and the police of collaborating with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to commit monumental electoral fraud to the disadvantage of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He commended the people of the state for their support before, during and after the elections and enjoined them to remain calm. He also assured them that their wish must ultimately prevail as they demonstrated at the polls.
He said: “Imo is our state to protect, irrespective of whatever political party that is in power and it is our collective responsibility to defend democracy which is government of the people, by the people and for the people.”
According to Nigerian Pilot, Okorocha advised the PDP in the state to emulate President Goodluck Jonathan who accepted the result of the presidential election without hesitation and conceded defeat to Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.
He appealed to INEC to declare him winner of the inconclusive poll or go ahead to conduct a re-run in the affected polling units in order to stop delaying the pronouncement of his victory.
He also commiserated with individuals who suffered one form of humiliation or the other during the polls and promised that the state government would take steps to address their plight.
Okorocha decried the massive electoral malpractices recorded in some local governments where he alleged that ballot boxes were violently snatched by agents believed to be working for the PDP.
Meanwhile, there were reports of election violence in Imo state. One of such involved an accident which claimed the lives of three people as police chased ballot box snatchers.
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