Frank Nweke Jr, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship candidate in the Enugu State election, has rejected the declaration of Peter Mbah of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner and governor-elect. Enugu APGA Guber Candidate Nweke Refuses to Welcome Mba’s Victory.
Speaking at a press conference in Enugu, Nweke stated that the elections were not free, fair, or credible, and the outcome was not acceptable as the will and wishes of Enugu State people. He said that the elections were an assault on democracy, and the violence, thuggery, intimidation, and the weaponization of poverty against the people reflect the desperation of the PDP to hold on to power. Enugu APC guber candidate Nweke refuses to welcome Mba’s victory.
Enugu APGA Guber Candidate Nweke Refuses to Welcome Mba’s Victory
Nweke thanked the electorate for investing their hope and trust in his candidacy and noted that it was a boost and inspiration for him and his team. He encouraged the people to keep their hope alive and not be discouraged by the unfortunate challenges that have beset the current democratic experience.
Nweke expressed his disappointment with the propaganda released just before midnight on Friday, March 17, 2023, insinuating that he had stepped down for his PDP rival. He noted that the recurrent lie might be referred to as a “political strategy,” but emphasised that a lie must be called a lie- the absence of integrity, a quality most desired in our government today. Enugu APC guber candidate Nweke refuses to welcome Mba’s victory, keep reading.
Nweke claimed that agents and canvassers at polling units told voters the same story that he had stepped down on the morning of the election. He alleged that on the same morning of the election, town criers were deployed in several communities in the state, ordering anyone who would not vote in favor of the PDP to stay home. He said that the House of Assembly candidate of the APGA for Udenu Constituency was attacked and almost killed on the morning of the election, while five polling units within his jurisdiction were cordoned off by police and military officers. Enugu APC guber candidate Nweke refuses to welcome Mba’s victory, keep reading.
Nweke further alleged that at various polling units across the State, PDP thugs, party members, hired criminals, and some compromised members of the police and military threatened voters at polling units and chased those who could not be bought over or intimidated into voting for the PDP. In Nsukka, voters reported gunshots at polling units allegedly instigated by the Labour Party.
Enugu APGA Guber Candidate Nweke Refuses to Welcome Mba’s Victory.
The former minister claimed that the PDP in desperate efforts to rig the elections, secured the assistance of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) agents to rig the election, offering cash or issuing threats as the situation demanded. He said that collation centres at the local government headquarters were completely hijacked by thugs and compromised security operatives, and party agents other than the agents of the PDP were not allowed access to any stage of the collation process until Sunday morning. Enugu APC guber candidate Nweke refuses to welcome Mba’s victory.
According to Nweke, “Only a few polling unit agents uploaded their results directly on IREV as provided by INEC, and fake result sheets were used to rewrite and manipulate the results of vote counts at the polling units before the falsified results of the elections were uploaded to IREV. Some of these result sheets were also completely blurred on the portal.” He further alleged that at 7:20 pm on election day, shots were fired sporadically at the Nkanu West collation center in Agbani, while the military stood aside and watched.
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Nweke claimed that similar breaches of the law and subversion of the electoral process occurred across many locations in the state. He insisted that the elections were far from fair and transparent and that the outcome was not acceptable as the will and wishes of Enugu State people. Nweke encouraged the people not to despair and not be discouraged by the unfortunate challenges that has befallen the state.
