From Ifeoma Ejiofor
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the violence,. irregularities and other criminalities perpetrated by the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) on Saturday.
The condemnation was made during a joint press conference by the candidate of APC in the November 8 Anambra State guber polls, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu and the APC chairman in the State, Chief Basil Ejidike.
The conference took place at the APC Secretariat in Awka at about 7.00pm on Sunday.
The duo expressed disbelief that such criminalities could be supervised by the government in power.
Chief Ejidike said, “The development is capable of truncating the November 8 governorship election, a situation where non state actors are in charge of security leaves much to be desired.
“Our Ward Chairman was brutally murdered in Nri, in Anaocha LGA, the home state of our Deputy governorship candidate, Iyom Sen Uche Ekwunife.
“The governorship candidate of our party, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu was denied the opportunity to exercise his franchise of voting, the same thing is applicable to our senatorial candidate,” he said.
On his part, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu narrated his experience in home town as non state actors of Agunechemba and Udogachi took over security right under the nose of the regular security operatives.
Prince Ukachukwu popularly called Ikukuoma to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the leadership of security agencies to ensure that proactive measure is put in place to prevent reoccurrence on November 8.
He pointed out that if it was APC that used the police and military to influence the direction of the election, the APGA faithful would not like it.
“I appeal to the IGP, the Military and DSS to rise to the occasion of checking mating the non actors’s participating in fully in an election. The ideal thing to do is to demobilize them during the election as agreed. If the conventional security agencies can not protect us, we may consider the option of securing our party faithful and our selves.
“Imagine, the Anambra State Deputy Governor came to Osumenyi my community to collect election materials from the INEC officials, while the voters were openly bribed by government officials.
“Youths in my community blocked him because he was obviously out of Anambra Central senatorial zone to commit criminalities but I appealed to them to allow him go.
“Some of the journalists who came to cover the election proceedings were arrested and detained by the Agunechemba and Udogachi operatives, this they do brazenly in the presence of regular security operatives. We will not allow this to continue,” he asserted.