How we were forced to announce cancellation – C’ttee
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2022 Primary Election Ward Congresses Electoral Committee for Anambra State has upheld the results of the May 1, 2022, ward delegates’ elections in the state.
The Chairman of the committee, Alhaji Jibrin Ahmed, in a letter to the national secretariat of the party, denied cancelling results of the elections, explaining that the processes were smooth and successfully conducted under a free and fair atmosphere.
The committee, in the letter sighted by our correspondent, explained that it was after the successful conclusion of the elections that some people broke into the venue, snatched the result sheets and compelled them to announce that the elections had been cancelled.
The letter reads in part: “We got to the party secretariat at about 11am in the morning and addressed the party members and stakeholders present. Thereafter, we distributed the electoral materials, including the original result sheets, to the designated three-man electoral panel of the 21 local government areas.
“After distribution, Valentine Ozigbo, Ndubuisi Nwobu, Hon Tony Nwoye and Sam Ben Nwosu stormed the secretariat with miscreants and insisted that we give them the original result sheets which had already been distributed on the grounds that the list of the three-man local government area electoral panel being used for the exercise was not favourable to them.”
Jibrin further said it was at this point that the hoodlums locked the entrance of the hall and compelled the committee to write a letter cancelling the exercise and thereafter forced them to do a press conference.
He said, “They initially compelled the committee to sign the photocopies of the results in our possession and issued same to the people in their own list of the three-man local government électoral panel.
“A decision they later rescinded and asked us to cancel the exercise outright, hence handing over the signed photocopies to them through the Administrative Secretary of the party, Mr Casmir Ajulu.”
He explained that the men of the DSS rescued them after being held hostage for over two hours before they proceeded to the collation centre at Bon Hotel and concluded the exercise.
He said, “Let it be on record that the elections were free and fair and successfully concluded, except for the incident which we narrated above.”