Some party agents at the Imo State Collation Centre in Owerri, the state capital, on Sunday, protested against the hurried collation of results for the November 11, 2023 governorship poll.
One of the agents said, “Why are we in a hurry to start collation? Party agents are not allowed to express their grievances. The world is watching.”
Naija News learnt that amidst the protest, the state Returning Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the election, Prof Abayomi Fashina, insisted that the collation will proceed.
However, another visibly aggrieved party agent said, “We have a petition to the INEC chairman. Allow us to submit our petition.”
The male agent from one of the opposition parties said the election was marred by voter intimidation, vote buying, and violence, saying that voting was not held in some polling units in Imo.
He also alleged that collation officers at the local government areas (LGAs) manufactured results.
One of the LGA collation officers immediately refuted the alleged manufactured results even as party agents from the opposition were instantly supported by their colleague who raised the concerns.
However, Fashina responded, “I don’t have the mandate to receive a petition from anybody. I am the chairman of this collation centre, you don’t talk when I don’t authorise you to talk.”
The returning officer adjourned the collation briefly to resolve some lingering issues and await results from the other LGAs.
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