Imo state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Prof Sylvia Uchenna Agu, has admitted that there were flaws in the February 25 Presidential/National Assembly elections in the state as a lot of logistics problems posed challenges to the commission and its staff.
She bore her mind during a stakeholders’ meeting, Monday at the Imo INEC Collation Centre at the commission’s state headquarters, Owerri.
According to her, “The election was flawed. I was really pained. Insecurity, vehicular logistics marred my efforts to conduct a good election.”
Prof Agu disclosed that the election was marred by late arrival of electoral materials and inability to upload election results and that her staff were unable to go to some places in Orlu and Okigwe areas, and that even though she pleaded with security agencies to escort them, there were no vehicles.
“I called the Electoral Officers, they told me there were no problems but that it was only vehicular problem. This, I could not solve at that point. I called this meeting to know what to do and how to tackle the above mentioned problems on Saturday. I was not at the field where the elections were taking place but some people accused me of rigging the election,” he said.
She pleaded with stakeholders to assist the commission correct the mistakes discovered in the last election to enable it conduct a free and fair election this Saturday. She alleged that politicians worked with members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and their NATO counterparts to mar the election by backing out of the earlier agreement reached with the commission.
