Labour Party protests delayed release of Imo election documents

The Labour Party in Imo State on Monday protested the alleged delayed release of the Certified True Copies (CTCs) of documents for the November 11 election in the state by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The LP Chairman in the state, Mr. Callistus Ihejiagwa, who led the protesters to the INEC Office on Port Harcourt Road in Owerri, decried the commission’s refusal to release the documents, nine days after the poll.

He, therefore, urged the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, and the commission’s Commissioner for the South-East, Mr. Ken Ukaogu, to prevail on the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Sylvia Agu, to release the documents.

He said: “As the collation of results was about to begin at the state collation centre here in Owerri, I petitioned INEC, concerning the manner of accreditation at the polling units, as reported by our agents across the state.

“My petition, however, fell on deaf ears as the Returning Officer, Prof. Abayomi Fasina, said it was not in his jurisdiction to hear the petition and asked us to go to court.

READ ALSO: Labour Party’s Achonu demands cancellation of election results in parts of Imo over irregularities

“Nine days on, it beats our imagination that INEC, which collated and announced results just 12 hours after the election, has yet to release the very documents – the CTCs of election documents – we need to pursue litigation.”

In his remark, INEC’s Head of Voter Education and Publicity in Imo, Mrs. Emmanuella Ben-Opara, said the documents were being assembled and would be released to the party in due course.

“We received your request for CTCs, minuted on it, and the application is being attended to. The materials are being assembled as we speak.

“When we are done, and on payment of the cost, we will release the documents to you.

“Please remain civil,“ Ben-Opara said.

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