By Ibe Pascal, Owerri
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State has termed the statement made by the Governor of the State, Senator Hope Uzodinma, in the aftermath of last night’s attack on INEC Office in Owerri as shameful and irresponsible.
Recall that hoodlums attacked Imo INEC headquarters in Owerri but were overpowered by the police.
In the attack, four people died, three gunmen and a policeman.
During an assessment visit to Imo police command on Monday, Uzodimma said the attack was politically contrived by those who are desperate to win elections by all means.
In a swift response, Collins Opuruozor, the PDP’s Publicity Secretary in the state, berated gov Uzodimma, saying his statements were irresponsible.
The statement reads “To say the very least, this jaundiced and false excuse has once again betrayed Senator Uzodinma’s abiding failure to keep Imo people safe. This Governor can no longer defend his inability to deliver on the primary expectation of political governance, which is the security of lives and property.
“By the way, what else defines political desperation better than a man who came fourth in an election but usurped the people’s mandate through a judicial heist, and now sees himself as their feudal lord?
“From the first week of January this year to the second week of December, Senator Uzodinma has continued to tell Imo people that his enemies are behind the carnage and ravages going on in the State. He has failed to name who are the enemies. He has also failed to bring them to book. Instead, he repeats the same thing day after day with the intention of hiding his failures and getting sympathizers.
“Imo PDP regrets that, in view of Senator Uzodinma’s lack of sincerity and genuine commitment to addressing the festering insecurity in the State, the valleys of Orsu, the forests of Orlu and the rocky hills of Okigwe have now become safe havens for terrorists, bandits and kidnappers who now make life a misery for Imo people.
“Our Party holds that the insecurity in Imo is simply and squarely a direct consequence of the catastrophic failure of governance in the State under the unpopular regime of Senator Uzodinma.
“Our Party deems it very important to remind Imo people and Nigerians that, before this latest attack on INEC Office in the State, there had been some other desperate efforts by those who came to power through the back door to undermine the capacity of INEC to conduct free, fair and credible elections in the State.
“First, INEC came under a very brutal legal attack through a secret court action instituted in the State by those same usurpers. They had sought to stop the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), a technology they fear would frustrate their plot to manipulate the forthcoming elections.
“Second, INEC database was attacked and the voter register massively compromised, particularly for Omuma Ward, where tens of thousands of fake, alien and non-existent names and photographs were smuggled into the register. That is what Nigerians now refer to as the Omuma Magic!
“It is telling, not just that Omuma is the hometown of Senator Hope Uzodinma, but also that the regime in Imo quickly arrested and arbitrarily detained the INEC officials who were accused of bringing to public knowledge the monumental voter register fraud in Omuma.
“Our Party, therefore, continues to condemn these legal, cyber and physical attacks on INEC, and asks security agencies to probe beneath the surface to establish possible links which the secret court action against INEC and earlier attack on INEC voter register might have with the recent attack on INEC Office in Owerri. Those found guilty of one cannot file a disclaimer over the others.
“Our Party enjoins Imo people to turn out en mass on Saturday, December 17th, to receive our Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who will be in Imo for the Flagoff of our Presidential campaign. So far as God is on the throne, the enemies of democracy who want the 2023 general elections not to hold in Imo State will definitely come to grief, and the wishes of Imo people will prevail.
