By Eseoghene Emuke
The House of Representatives Candidate for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Warri Federal Constituency, Mr. Alex Eyengho has alleged that the last Satruday’s election in Warri fraught with massive manipulation of results and electoral violence.
Eyengho, a renowned filmmaker and a journalist, told journalists at the Press Centre of the Nigeria Union of Journalists on Wednesday that he won the election with the validly counted votes in the area.
He, however, called for the ‘outright cancellation’ of the election, vowing to challenge the election’s outcome at the election tribunal as well as retrived his ‘stolen mandate.’
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared the candidate of the PDP, Chief Thomas Ereyitomi as the winner of the Warri Federal House of Representatives seat having polled a total of 152, 874 votes.
Eyengho, in the results declared by INEC, scored 18,443, to come distant third in the election.
He said, “In the riverine areas, particularly in Warri North and Warri South West, there were life-threatening intimidation and violence. Before the election started, some group of youths from the bush invaded the community, Ijaghala in Ugborodo, and attacked people. The INEC officials out of fear scampered for safety.
“It was after my calls to the Army headquarters that they (INEC officials) returned hours later. In other places it was worse. Most of the votes counted were not recorded by the card readers. It is only accredited votes that should be counted.”
Eyengho also fingered INEC’s staff, ad-hoc staff and security agencies as the marred exercise.
Congratulating President Muhammadu Buhari for his victory in the presidential polls, he stated that it shows that the president “is a man of the people and not a tiny cabal”.
Assuring constituents that he will employ all legal and peaceful means to regain his stolen mandate, he thanked them for their support throughout the exercise.
Responding to reports that his defeat is as a result of his failure to campaign in the area, the APC candidate said, “That is a vicious lie, propaganda and de-marketing my campaign suffered in the build up to the elections.
“It is preposterous and laughable. It is there for the electorates to see. They demonstrated that right by giving me the physical votes.”
