LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – No fewer than 100 supporters of the Labour Party, LP, particularly in the Abakaliki/Izzi and Ohaukwu/Ebonyi federal constituencies, protested the alleged rigging, tampering with election results, and collusion between INEC officials and politicians to award votes to the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on 27 February.
The results that were reportedly given to the candidates of the APC were called into question by the demonstrators who surrounded the INEC office in Abakaliki, the capital of Ebonyi State.
The protesters carried placards bearing inscriptions such as “Say no to rigging,” “The power of the people is greater than the people in power,” “INEC should not play with our destiny,” and “Democracy is not a dictator’s sport.”
Other inscriptions include “Give us our victory,” “Let democracy reign,” “Say no to corruption,” “Our votes must count,” and “Say no to rigging.”
At the INEC headquarters, protesters who spoke to reporters through Labour Party candidates for the Abakaliki/Izzi and Ohaukwu/Ebonyi federal seats urged President Muhammadu Buhari and all Nigerians to pressure the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Ebonyi State to act morally.
“Bad elements in INEC are trying to influence our results,” claimed Emmanuel Eze and Prince Chibueze Agbo, the Labour Party’s candidates for the House of Representatives in the federal constituencies of Abakaliki/Izzi and Ohaukwu/Ebonyi.
Eze said: “The election results from Abakaliki/ Izzi federal constituency are yet to be declared up till now. They kept mutilating the results.
“This is 48 hours after the election has been conducted. They are manufacturing figures and we will not agree. The Electoral Officers for Abakaliki/ Izzi and Ohaukwu/Ebonyi federal constituencies should tell us how much they have collected to frustrate the wishes of the masses.
“I’m the candidate of LP for Abakaliki, Izzi federal constituency who won overwhelmingly. INEC must announce our results because Labour Party, LP, won the election.”
Prince Chibueze Agbo, who is contesting for Ohaukwu, Ebonyi Federal Constituency, said: “Nobody is happy with what is happening in Nigeria today. But I’m happy that the masses are giving the Obidient movement massive support everywhere.
“Those few bad elements in INEC that are trying to thwart the wishes of the masses will never succeed. I know, together we will get our mandate, and victory back. They (INEC) should not take the masses for granted. It’s better to allow the electoral revolution to prevail than violence.”