Imo State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party has claimed to have uncovered an

alleged move by the APC-led government of Hope Uzodinma to smuggle what it

described as doctored lists to the Independent State Electoral Commission ahead of the

forthcoming LGA elections scheduled for September 21.

The allegation was made by the PDP through its State Publicity Secretary, Lancelot

Obiaku, who accused Uzodinma’s administration of preparing to submit pre-written

results of the yet-to-hold LGA elections to ISIEC.

The statement alleged that Uzodinma’s move is intended to disrupt the forthcoming

local government poll by imposing candidates who neither purchased expression of

interest and nomination forms nor participated in the screening and primary elections

of the APC, and called the action a violation of the Electoral Act and the 1999

Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

The PDP Publicity Secretary also said, Uzodinma is allegedly collaborating with ISIEC

Chairman Charles Ejiogu and other senior officials of the Commission to perfect the

deal, and the allegation comes just a few days after ISIEC Chairman Charles Ejiogu, in a

press statement, denied knowledge of any list of candidates when the allegation was

first published in a local tabloid.

Despite the ISIEC Chairman debunking the story as false, the PDP insisted that

information from an insider revealed that ISIEC had accepted the doctored list and

assembled it for announcement after the LGA elections, while, Obiaku, in the press

statement, urged the party’s Chairmanship and Councilor candidates, along with party

members, to remain calm and law-abiding, assuring them that the PDP would do

everything possible to prevent what he described as an evil intention to deny them

victory in the election.