Candidates from three political parties—the Labour Party, the African Democratic Congress, and the Peoples Democratic Party—have rejected the declaration that All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Akarachi Amadi won the supplementary election held in Mbaitoli/Ikeduru Federal Constituency of Imo State on Saturday.
Chinonso Uba, the ADC candidate, alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) compromised the poll in favour of the APC. He claimed INEC officials were assisted by security agents and thugs allegedly recruited by the APC to rig the election. Declaring himself the “real hero” of the contest, Uba said he had no godfather but was able to “fight” till the end, and he asserted that the figures announced by INEC did not reflect the true votes cast.
Labour Party candidate Uche Ogbuagu also accused INEC of bypassing the Bi‑Modal Voters Accreditation Machine (BVAS) system and allocating votes to the APC candidate. Ogbuagu, who led by 5,058 votes before the supplementary election, said the APC candidate hijacked electoral materials and INEC officials with the aid of security agents. He stated, “I am rejecting everything that will be done about this election that would not stem from the BVAS because today I witnessed total deviance and bypass of the BVAS. Most worrisome was the way the electoral officers of both Mbaitoli and Ikeduru were totally compromised and went ahead to collate results in neglect of the BVAS. I hereby request a review of the results of the six polling units in Ikeduru and 52 polling units in Mbaitoli, totalling 58, with BVAS just as was done on February 25, 2023.”
The Peoples Democratic Party candidate, TU Kanacho, disclosed that he would challenge the outcome at the tribunal, saying, “We are not accepting the outcome of the election. It was massively rigged in favour of the APC candidate. We are heading to the Tribunal.”
The returning officer, Prof. Boniface Okoro, declared the APC candidate the winner on Sunday night, reporting that Amadi received 21,372 votes, while his closest rival, Ogbuagu of the Labour Party, obtained 18,296 votes.
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