Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
The Inter Party Advisory Council, IPAC, has raised alarm over plots by undemocratic forces to rig the Saturday governorship and house of assembly elections in Abia State.
IPAC Chairman, Mr Ceekay Igara, who raised the alarm at a press conference Thursday in Umuahia, cautioned those behind the unholy move to perish the thought.
Igara vowed that any attempt to compromise the polls would be vigorously resisted by IPAC.
The IPAC Chairman who was flanked by Chairmen of other political parties during the press conference called on security agencies to quickly launch investigations into the rumours of plots to import political thugs into the state with the intention to use them to instigate violence and pave the way to manipulate the outcome of the elections.
IPAC appealed to INEC not to succumb to pressure from any quarters to compromise the poll results.
“We are worried about what is happening in Abia, and we want to appeal to INEC and security agencies to ensure the forthcoming elections are without violence.
“We have heard rumours of plans to intimidate voters and use force to subvert the will of the people.
“Therefore, we want to inform the political actors that they better think twice because we will resist any move to compromise the polls.”
In his contribution, the Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, the Rev. Augustine Ehiemere, said that “IPAC has deployed its third eye across the polling units in the state.”
He alleged that some polling units in Aba had been mapped out as “targets where these agents of darkness are planning to resort to intimidation of voters including sporadic shooting.”
He said that Abians could no longer afford to be idly and watch few individuals subvert their will and foist unpopular leaders on them.
The APGA Chairman charged security agencies not to joke with the intelligence available to IPAC, pleading with them to go after the masterminds of the evil and their foot soldiers.
Ehiemere restated his earlier calls for the immediate prosecution of an appointee of the State Government who in a viral video threatened to kill and fry the kidney of anyone who votes against the ruling party.
He explained that the concern of INEC was for INEC, security agencies and other critical stakeholders to provide enabling environment for a peaceful elections for Abians to willingly decide their leaders.
