Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra, Basil Ejidike has denied the reports that he collapsed after seeing results from polling units in Saturday’s Governorship election.
Ejidike while addressing the press on Monday, faulted different reports flying on cyberspace about the party over the Anambra inconclusive polls, TrackNews Online reports.
Insisting that the party was short-changed in many areas, Ejidike also denied the claims that APC called for the cancellation of the election and that it has vowed to challenge the outcome in court.
He said, “There has been too much information ascribed to us that is not true. Some people wrote whatever they liked and credited it to the party when it didn’t come from the party.
“One of them was the one that said APC has denounced the exercise and called for cancellation, and the other was that we said we were heading to court to challenge the election.
“There is another one that said that I collapsed, after hearing the result of my ward, where they claimed I lost. I want to make it clear that they were false information. None of them emanated from us.”
Speaking about the viral picture depicting his collapse; the party chairman added: “The picture saying that I collapsed is false. My polling unit 002 bridgehead market, Onitsha was won by APC. I had 95 percent in the unit and even in my ward. If you look at the picture they are circulating, you will know that it has no resemblance of my person at all. Please discard the information.”
Ejidike, however, maintained that the Saturday poll was marred by irregularities, including the disenfranchisement of supporters using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
The party chairman said: “We cannot start going to court in an election that has not been concluded. We cannot call for the cancellation of an election that was still ongoing. Our party never made the statement, and never said those things, so we urge you to discard them.
“What happened on election day with the BVAS was a surprise to us. We are surprised to discover they did not function appropriately. Voters turned out but ended up not voting.
“In my polling unit, it took me 15 minutes to be cleared to cast one vote. I visited Onitsha south not less than eight times to complain about the BVAS, and I hope that INEC will improve on it.
“In Orumba North the returning officer claimed there was no election but the Electoral Officer claimed there was. A committee was set up, but there is no way you can cross-check the result without checking the BVAS. The returning officer agreed and collated the result and you agree with me the situation is not the best.”
Ejidike alleged there was a cancellation of 10,000 votes for APC in Abatete. He also noted that In Uke, elections were held in only six out of 17 polling units.
“Many other units in Idemili had not an election and INEC still collated and announced results,” he said.
“The essence of this is to draw all these grey areas to INEC, so that justice may be seen to have been done. We have not in any way called for cancellation, but adequate attention should be given to these areas to help the people exercise their franchise,” Ejidike reiterated.
