Uzodinma’s over-blown votes not recognized by BVAS, says INEC ICT Consultant
…I won the election, I won’t congratulate Uzodinma--Labour Party candidate, Achonu
Joseph Irikefe
Dr Freda Ikpefua, an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) consultant to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed that the widely clamoured votes of Senator Hope Uzodinma in the last Saturday’s Governorship election is not recognized in the INEC Bimodal Voter System (BVAS) and Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
This came as the governorship candidate of the Labour Party, Senator Athan Achonu has vowed never to congratulate Governor Hope Uzodinma over his reported victory in the election, saying he was the authentic winner of the election
Senator Uzodinma is the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had claimed to have polled over 540,000 votes to purportedly defeat his closest rival and candidate of the PDP, Senator Samuel Anyanwu who scored over 70,000 votes while leaving the candidate of Labour Party, Senator Athan Achonu with a distance third position with over 60,000 votes.
However, in a twist of event, Dr Ikpefua said that the commission vowed to use the BVAS in all its elections including the just concluded off cycle Governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states, regretting that out of the over-blown votes belonging to APC candidate, only 52, 489, 000 was recognized by BVAS and uploaded into the IReV.
He said this while speaking in a joint commission’s quarterly meeting to review outcomes of the last Saturday’s governorship elections in three states, advising the commission to act immediately to be able to redeem its image.
Addressing them, Chairman of the commission, Prof Mamood Yakubu called on the senior staff who participated in the last election to submit reports with attached results of each local government areas where elections actually held. He vowed to sanction any staff who out of personal interest indulged in act capable of embarrassing the commission.
Prof Yakubu further warned against partisan politics in the discharge of their duties, adding that the image of the commission should be a major priority of any staff.
Meanwhile, the governorship candidate of Labour Party, Senator Athan Achonu in a statement released through his spokesperson, Chibuikem Diala, described himself as the true winner of the election, saying there was no truth in the reports making the rounds that he had visited and congratulated the winner of the election, Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to Achonu, visiting Uzodinma and congratulating him was a “wishful thinking that can never happen.”
The statement described the rumour “as a script from the pit of hell and could only be the handiwork of evil minds, which this government is well known for.
“After foisting the worst electoral heist on Imo State, the governor and his bootlickers are spreading fake news purporting that his opponents in last Saturday’s election had paid him a congratulatory visit.”
He described the congratulatory story as “childish and very poorly written.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Senator Achonu had since categorically rejected the result declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and called for its review and cancellation.
“He had also held a joint press briefing with Samuel Anyanwu (SamDaddy), the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, and insisted that the result of the governorship election must be reviewed or cancelled, warning that unless the INEC did so, the people might revolt.”