Barr. Donald Chidi Amamgbo, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate for the Anambra South Senatorial by-election, has come hard on INEC over what he described as “systemic sabotage” and deliberate disenfranchisement during the just concluded by-election in Anambra State.
In a press conference at Awka, Amamgbo alleged that INEC withheld tags for ADC’s ward and local government collation agents, effectively crippling the party’s ability to defend its votes.
He also claimed that INEC circulated a doctored list of polling agents in Ihiala, which differed from the authentic list submitted by ADC.
Amamgbo described the election as a “carefully orchestrated charade” designed to undermine the credibility of the process.
He criticized Governor Charles Soludo’s statement that Labour and ADC parties are “dead” in Anambra, suggesting that the governor’s party, APGA, was behind the alleged sabotage.
The ADC candidate emphasized that the people of Anambra South deserve an independent voice in the Senate, not a puppet senator controlled by Governor Soludo.
He called for a thorough review of the electoral process, institutional reforms within INEC, and an end to the culture of collusion between political parties and electoral officials.
Amamgbo vowed to continue speaking out against attempts to undermine democracy and restore faith in the ballot.
Parts of Amamgbo’s speech reads:
“Elections are meant to be the ultimate expression of the people’s will. Instead, what we witnessed was a carefully orchestrated charade designed to obfuscate, suffocate and decimate the people’s voice and choice. Ultimately undermining the credibility of the process.
“On the eve of the elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) deliberately withheld the tags for our ward and local government collation agents, effectively crippling ADC’s ability to defend the votes of our people at all critical stages of collation. Why one might ask? The answer is the infantile attempt to disillusion and debase ADC the primary opposition party in Nigeria. Look no further than the loquacious and bombastic statement of Professor Charles Soludo that “Labor and ADC parties are dead in Anambra”. If that was so then Anambra South is an electoral crime scene and Professor Soludo election malfeasance is directly to blame.
“In Ihiala, INEC went further by circulating a doctored list of polling agents that did not correspond with the authentic list duly submitted by our party and uploaded on the INEC portal. These are not mistakes. They are not clerical oversights. They are acts of sabotage.
“I ask: How can an election be free and fair when one party is denied collation agents? That is like asking a team to play football blindfolded while the referee looks the other way.
“This sabotage was not random. It was a deliberate and deviant orchestration by the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) a political “Cult” in Anambra.
“Very devastating is the fact that APGA government has normalised vote buying knowing fully well that the hungry exploited citizens of Anambra state will collect money to vote just to survive another day.
“At the centre of this charade is a Senator-elect tethered to the control of Governor Charles Soludo. This is not democracy. This is puppetry”.
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