Some members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State on Friday protested alleged fraudulent subversion of the results of the May 23 primary for Oyi Constituency seat.

The protesters, who bore placards with varying inscriptions including ‘Restore Ojicam the genuine winner,’ ‘Soludo, hear the cry of Oyi people,’ ‘Protect APGA’s integrity,’ ‘Oyi mandate can’t be stolen,’ accused certain government officials and party bigwigs of masterminding the fraud.

The party stakeholders who marched from Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka, to the government house, also known as Light House, called on Governor Chukwuma Soludo to intervene and restore the stolen mandate of the true winner of the election.

Speaking on behalf of the protesters, State Auditor, APGA, Mr Uchenna Oraegbunam stressed the need for the will of the people to prevail, especially in view of efforts by party faithful to win elections in the area.

He said, “The sitting member representing Oyi State Constituency, Innocent Ojike, scored 179 votes while another aspirant, Kosisochukwu Ibemesi, scored 45 votes in an election held under a peaceful environment at Nteje Community, Ward 4, which is my own voting area.

“After the election, the result was declared at the Council hall, and Hon Ojike won, but two days after the announcement, an entirely different result was announced declaring Ibemesi as the winner.

“We were shocked to see that they wrote 425 votes for Kosisochukwu Ibemesi, whereas the entire accredited voters for that election was 230. This is the same number of accredited persons for the Senate and House of Reps primaries conducted the same day.”

While insisting that the result later declared was not a true reflection of the vote cast by the Oyi people, Oraegbunam said APGA, as a progressive party, must protect its internal democracy from its destroyers.

“Anyone who is peddling the fake results should present evidence to support the result they declared.

“All we are asking the governor is to restore the people’s mandate. We have laboured a lot to make this party win elections in Nteje and Oyi LGA. Let the will of the people prevail,” he said.

Responding, Deputy Chief of Staff to Mr Governor, Dr Okechi Vincent, assured the protesters that their message had been received and would be delivered accordingly.

He said, “The Governor believes that power belongs to the people and people should vote their choices. If you believe that the results were manipulated and did not favour you, what you should have done is to write to the party.

“Again, you should have written to the governor. He’s someone that listens to everyone. Since the primary started, he’s been addressing different aggrieved groups without taking sides.

“Currently, he’s in a retreat with his Exco to make the state livable and prosperous, which will definitely favour all of us. But I assure you that the message will be delivered to him.” (The Nation)