Violence Mar Council Poll In Anambra East, YPP Pulls Out Over Alleged Hijack
The Young Progressives Party (YPP) has pulled out of the Local Government Council Chairmanship and Ward Councillorship election in Anambra East Local Government Area of Anambra.
This was informed by alleged repeated gunfire during the distribution of electoral materials at Otuocha, the LGA headquarters on Saturday morning.
The party which described the exercise as a ‘charade’ claimed its agents and supporters were being prevented from participating in the election, and alleged that it was being manipulated in favour of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
Mr Charles Ifediora, YPP
Local Government Collation Agent for Anambra East, alleged that one of its female members was hit by a bullet during the incident and had been taken to an undisclosed hospital for treatment.
Ifediora said the situation became tense after YPP agents and supporters assembled at their designated locations to participate in the election but none of his party’s agents was allowed to carry out their duties.
He accused the state government, of abetting what he described as a sham election.
According to him, the development was particularly disturbing because the YPP had presented candidates for all 15 councillorship positions in the local government, covering 241 polling units.
Ifediora further alleged that security operatives identified as Agunaechebe and Udo Ga-achi had been mobilised by the state government to ensure that the opposition did not participate effectively in the election.
He alleged that one Ebele Eda was leading the operation.
He also claimed that result sheets for some communities, including Aguleri, Nando and Nsugbe, were taken to Awka, the state capital, where they would allegedly be completed at a location convenient to those conducting the exercise.
The YPP agent further alleged that the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC) was not independent, claiming that election result sheets were released to APGA only.
He said, “The situation is appalling. The election was scheduled to take place today, and when our people assembled as planned, all my agents were not allowed.
“There were several gunshots and one of our party members, a lady, was shot and taken to the hospital.”
Ifediora said the YPP had decided to boycott the election because of what he described as irregularities and a lack of a level playing field.
He said the party’s candidate for Anambra East was Sunday Nnabuife, adding that the decision to boycott the poll followed what the party perceived as a plot to deny the YPP the growing organic support for its candidate.
According to him, the people’s support for the YPP candidate was largely driven by dissatisfaction with the performance of the incumbent APGA council leadership, which he alleged had done little or nothing to improve the lives of residents during his first tenure.
Another aggrieved party member in the area questioned why Governor Soludo would not test his popularity in a genuinely free and fair local government election.
“If the governor thinks he is popular, why this charade?” he asked.
He alleged that the conduct of the Anambra East election was consistent with what he described as the pattern of previous APGA-controlled elections in the state, including the November 8 governorship poll.
He maintained that the only way to determine the popularity of the governor and his party was through a transparent election in which all political parties and their agents were allowed to participate freely.
ANSIEC and Anambra Government were yet to react to the allegations as of press time.
