The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Aba North/Aba South Federal Constituency, Hon. Promise Iheasimuo has rejected the result of Saturday’s National Assembly election.
Iheasimuo said that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) omitted the party logo from the ballot papers, making it impossible for his supporters and party members to vote for him in the election.
Addressing journalists in Aba on Friday, Iheasimuo, a former leader of the Aba South Legislative Council said that the people of Aba North and Aba South who may have chosen APC were denied the options, through the omission and called for the cancellation of the election
“We were wrongly excluded from the ballot papers and we were not found on the election results sheet. We made an official report to INEC, security agencies and even the press, but INEC ignored us and went ahead to declare that the candidate of the Labour Party won the election where another party was omitted for no good reason.
“I passed through the due process. I bought a form, passed through screening and submitted my form and was made my party’s candidate by the law.
“Even when they initially excluded me, I got an order from a Federal High Court sitting in Umuahia mandating INEC to submit my name and my party did the same by urging it publish my name, yet INEC omitted my name.”
He said that when he inquired from INEC, they told him that they had already printed the ballot papers before he got an order from the court to shift the date of the election to accommodate him.
“Saying that before they started working on my order they’d already printed the ballot papers. This is not an excuse to omit a candidate of a party.
“The order was served to INEC on the 20th and INEC acknowledged the reception of the order. Even if it comes a day before the election, INEC should accommodate me.
“I’m a candidate and INEC should put my party’s name there and allow our supporters to make their choice. So, I’m calling for the cancellation of the Aba North/Aba South Federal Constituency election and urge them to fix a new date for the election.”
