The Abia state Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, has challenged the returning officer for the March 18 governorship election in the state, Professor Nnenna Oti, to come out boldly and reveal the identity of those who attempted to bribe her.
OsunDaily News recalls that Oti following the conclusion of the Abia Stata governorship came out in the media to allege that she faced a lot of threats and others attempted to bribe her to manipulate the results of the election in the state.
However, the state governor while speaking to some pressmen in Umuahia challenged Oti, who is Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, (FUTO) in Imo State to open up and reveal those who bullied her.
The governor alleged that Oti was sent to execute a ‘hatchet job’ against the PDP in the state considering her utterances after the election.
Ikpeazu claimed that Oti participation in the victory dance of the governorship candidate of the Labour Party, Dr Alex Otti, through and her actions after the election were in contradiction with the expected neutrality of INEC officials.
He said her attitude and actions have betrayed his confidence in the electoral body.
The governor said “I wish I knew those who bullied her. I think she has been making too much noise out of nothing. The returning officer’s duty is essentially to tally results already collated from the wards through the local government and declare them. She can’t change the results because she has no right to do that unless she went ahead and did something like that.
“But her reactions betrayed the fact that she was overly excited about something. When you come to that kind of position dispassionately, whatever the outcome should not excite you. But the victory dance she participated in and her statements which are akin to confessions have betrayed the fact that she came for a hatchet job. It could be to reject or accept some results.
“I want the world to know that she is celebrating what she has no right to do. I have never met her before; I don’t have her telephone number but I’m aware that if she came to do the right thing, she has no right to change anything. In fact, she has no right to even reject results because those results were generated from the polling units and wards. Her celebration is unfortunate and unbecoming of somebody who was given that kind of responsibility at that level.”
Speaking about the gifts Oti has received after the elections, the governor said “You know that bribe can come before or after the event. If I tell you if you do this or if this is the outcome, this is what you will get, it is an inducement. It is also an incentive to behave in a certain way. So, could this be a fulfillment of a promise that if this is the outcome, this is what will happen. I think it is unprecedented, I don’t know where this has happened in Nigeria before”.
