Rochas suffers setback as Imo APC Elders Forum supports Inec's decision to withhold certificate of return

GOVERNOR Rochas has suffered a major setback in his quest to get declared the senator-elect for Imo West Senatorial District after the Imo State All Progressives Congress (APC) Elders Forum said it supported the decision to withhold his certificate of return.

Following the February 29 National Assembly elections, Governor Okorocha was declared the winner of the Imo West Senatorial District, with 97,762 votes, beating his closest rival Jones Onyereri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who got 68,117 votes. However, the returning officer Professor Francis Ibeawuchi, later revealed that he announced the results under duress as he was abducted and held until he pronounced the governor the winner.

As a result of this revelation,. the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) decided to withhold Governor Okorocha's certificate of return. He will now have to wait for a re-run in certain parts of his constituency as the elections have been declared inconclusive.

Agreeing with Inec's decision, the Imo APC Elders Forum chairman, Dr Edmund Onyebuchi, said the governor had gone against the dictates of APC’s fight against corruption. He added that election rigging was an act of corruption, so they could not condone it.

Dr Onyebuchi said: “We want to remind everyone that APC is fighting corruption and injustice and if any person goes against the dictates of the war against corruption, he is an interloper and not a member of APC. That is why we are in support of the action taken by Inec on the Imo west senatorial election.”

Also, the forum insisted that the PDP gubernatorial candidate in the last election, Emeka Hon Ihedioha, was not duly elected governor because he did not secure victory in two-third of the local governments in the state. Dr Onyebuchi claimed the results of the Imo State governorship elections were manipulated in favour of Hon Ihedioha who was declared the winner.

 “The manipulation was so bad that the APC could not even win a seat at the Imo State House of Assembly. Ihedioha knew he did not win any election, Uzodinma won the election because he is the true choice of Imo people.

“We support the petition filed by Uzodinma at the Governorship Election Tribunal. We are going to participate actively in Uzodinma’s petition in the tribunal because if an honour is awarded where it is not merited, then, it has been denied where it is justly due," Dr Onyebuchi added.

In addition, he pointed out that the forum had resolved to support and assist all APC candidates who ran for the Imo House of Assembly election at the tribunal. Several of them are challenging the results. Of the 27 seats in the Imo State House of Assembly, the PDP won 13, the Action Alliance won eight and the All Progressives Grand Alliance won six.