Leaders of major political parties in Imo State staged a walkout during a stakeholders meeting organized by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Owerri, the state capital.
The meeting, which was convened by INEC ahead of off-cycle governorship elections in Imo, Kogi, and Bayelsa on November 11, began on a peaceful note but took a contentious turn when Kenneth Ukeagu, the national commissioner for the south-east representing Mahmood Yakubu, the national chairman of INEC, asked the press to leave the hall.
The directive to exclude the press did not sit well with leaders of opposition political parties in attendance, resulting in rancor, disorderliness, and a war of words among them.
As a consequence, leaders of the Labour Party (LP), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and others walked out in anger. However, representatives of the All Progressives Congress (APC) chose to remain in the session.
After the walkout, Jones Onyereri, running mate to Samuel Anyanwu, the PDP gubernatorial candidate, alleged that Ukeagu’s directive was part of a plan to rig the upcoming election in favor of the APC. Onyereri called for the removal of Sylvia Agu, the Imo resident electoral commissioner (REC), before the election, expressing concern over INEC’s impartiality.
Tony Nwulu, the running mate to Athan Achonu, LP candidate, reiterated their rejection of any election conducted by the current Imo REC. Macdonald Ebere, APC chairman in Imo, defended INEC’s decision to exclude cameras during the proceedings and dismissed the opposition parties’ concerns, asserting that Governor Hope Uzodinma had already won the election.