Says “…anything contrary will be a call to anarchy”
By our Correspondent
The National Leadership of Young Progressives Congress (YPP) has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare the Candidate of their Party; Hon. Emmanuel Ukpong-Udo as winner of the Supplementary election held in parts of Ikono/Ini Federal Constituency last Saturday, 15th April, 2023.
YPP made the call in a Press Release dated April 18, 2023 and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Egbeola Wale Martins.
The release reads “Our attention has been drawn to the plot by desperate individuals from the Akwa-Ibom State PDP in cahoot with some reckless officials of INEC to reenact the Adamawa episode, which was vehemently resisted and roundly condemned by Nigerians and the international community.
“While we are still grappling the sudden failed coup in Adamawa by some enemies of democracy, the PDP in similar fashion having failed to subvert the will of the good people of Ikono/Ini Federal Constituency despite unleashing mayhem that claimed the lives of several citizens in the February 25th Presidential/NASS elections and subsequently in the April 15th supplementary election are now at the verge of doing everything necessary to usurp a mandate freely given to Hon. Emmanuel Ukpong-Udo”.
The party also noted that its candidate had the highest votes from the results collated from 20 out of 21 Wards, but the election was declared inconclusive due to pre-election violence in one Ward which the YPP blamed on the PDP.
YPP noted “Recall that the candidate of the Young Progressives Party on February 25th polled 19,926 votes against the 15,765 votes scored by the candidate of the PDP in 20 out of 21 wards of the Federal Constituency but the election was declared inconclusive by INEC because of pre-election violence sponsored by the rigging machinery of the PDP in just a ward, thereby setting up a supplementary election, which was also violently disrupted by the same desperate politicians not willing to subject themselves to the verdict of the electorates.
“It is on record that neither the PDP nor APC have won any transparently conducted election since the inception of the 4th Republic, hence they are both still living under the false illusion that it is business as usual when in actual fact the people have moved beyond their deception, impunity and electoral fraud as it is almost impossible to continue to deceive the people all the time.
“We hereby call on the Independent National Electoral Commission to immediately declare the candidate of the Young Progressives Party, Hon. Emmanuel Ukpong-Udo representing Ikono/Ini Federal Constituency the winner of the election having polled the highest number of valid votes in the contest in accordance with the 2022 Electoral Act as anything contrary will be a call to anarchy.
Never again should lawful elected candidates be deprived of victory when the people have spoken loud and clear through the ballot as it is increasingly becoming clear especially after the just concluded general elections that corrupt reckless politicians from the PDP and APC more than anything else are the greatest threats to our nascent democracy”.