Enugu Guber: Labour Party Senator-Elect Warns Against Rigging

Barr Okey Ezea, the senator-elect for Nsukka senatorial zone of Enugu State, weekend, warned against any plans to rig the March 11, 2023 governorship and House of Assembly elections in the state. According to him, voters should be allowed to exercise their fundamental human right to vote according to their consciences. He spoke at Nsukka in an interview with our correspondent.

Quoting him, “The National Assembly and the presidential elections have come and gone. In Enugu, the Labour Party performed very well. Out the eight Federal House of Representatives seats, Labour Party won seven. Out of the two senatorial elections that held, LP got one. The one in Enugu East senatorial zone is still pending because of the killing of our candidate, Barr Oyibo Chukwu. Enugu is a place for Labour Party.”

He claimed that the presidential election, which Senator Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress emerged winner, was rigged, and expressed disappointment that the desire of a majority Nigerians for a credible poll was truncated.

In his words, “As for the presidency, we feel highly disappointed that the Independent National Electoral Commission’s server was manipulated. While they could upload the elections for the House of Representatives and the Senate successfully, they could not upload the presidential results. What kind of funny arrangement is that? I don’t know why things cannot go right in Nigeria. There is nothing that we put our hands on that goes the way it should be.

“And somebody is there claiming he is an official of INEC. And in their normal way, they rig elections and tell you to go to court. Somebody comes and steals your property and tells you to go to court. And maybe when you go to court, and your case is knocked off by technical reasons, your property becomes his own. That is Nigeria for you.

“If it was done right and our presidential candidate loses, we don’t mind. You will be able to see your weaknesses and work on them for the next time. It is better than manipulation. What guarantee is there tomorrow that the same thing will not repeat itself?”

He called on electorate in the state to vote according to their choice during the March 11 governorship and House of Assembly polls. Ezea said, “Our message is very clear. Let everybody go out to cast their votes. We are the party to beat. Because of that, some people are desperate to use violence to truncate the polls. We are calling on security agencies to live up to expectations to make sure that there is peace and tranquillity. Let people be allowed to vote according to their conscience. It is a fundamental human right, and you don’t abridge it because you are desperate to be in office. Our supporters should not feel discouraged with what happened in Rivers and Lagos states. The Labour Party needs to have governors and House of Assembly members for us to recover Obi’s mandate.”