The Imo government, on Tuesday, affirmed its commitment to free, fair and credible council elections on September 21, saying it has no plans to rig the exercise.

The government further declared that Governor Hope Uzodimma’s popularity and the people-oriented projects across the state would guarantee overwhelming success for the ruling All Progressives Congress in the elections.

The Commissioner for Information, Public Orientation and Strategy, Declan Emelumba, said this in Owerri while briefing journalists on the government’s preparedness to sweep the polls.

Mr Emelumba described the allegation by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party that Mr Uzodimma had smuggled in written results to the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC) as “insulting.”

PDP’s spokesman in Imo, Lancelot Obiaku, had alleged in a statement that Mr Uzodimma’s government was set to rig the polls.

Dismissing the allegation, Mr Emelumba described PDP as a “failed party in tatters that is ill-prepared for the election.”

Mr Emelumba added, “PDP is in tatters. It is best remembered in Imo today as a failed party. They already know that they cannot win a single ward in the state, which is why they are crying wolf, trying to discredit an election that is yet to hold.”

He berated the PDP for always raising false alarms to attract sympathy instead of campaigning. According to him, APC is not only strong in the state but formidable and impregnable, as evidenced in its performance during the 2023 governorship election.

“APC won in all the 27 local government areas of the state. PDP could not even win the local government of their governorship candidate. After dragging APC to all the courts, the Supreme Court still affirmed that His Excellency, Gov. Hope Uzodimma, won fair and square,” he said.

Mr Emelumba said no governor with such a record would descend low to rig a local government election, more so when APC is firmly rooted in the grassroots in the state.

He further said the Imo government did not plan to interfere in ISIEC and its efforts to conduct credible, free, fair council polls.

“Those entertaining doubts as to the credibility of the state electoral body already know that they will lose the election. It is a well-known trademark of the PDP to raise false alarms about imaginary rigging of an election because failure is their constant companion,” he said.

He called on the electorate to ignore the antics of a “drowning party” and vote massively for APC as a guarantee for more democracy dividends in the state, especially at the grassroots. 

(NAN)