Imo State Government has accused First Lady of Ondo State and APC senatorial aspirant for Imo East, Betty Akeredolu of importing thugs to rig the process of election. But Akeredolu said the state governor, Hope Uzodimma, hijacked the primaries. Speaking through the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Declan Emelumba, the governor said he has no hand in the party primaries.
Emelumba said that Mrs. Akeredolu was protesting because the “thugs she imported” from Ondo State to rig the process were intercepted and arrested by the police. The commissioner said “the governor does not conduct primaries. Primary elections are conducted by the national leadership of the party. Secondly, the governor is in Abuja as we speak. How can he be in Abuja and at the same time be accused of medling in an exercise taking place in Owerri?
Earlier, the Ondo first lady had stormed the secretariat with her security aides and supporters. She told journalists that she will resist all attempt by the state governor to announce one of the aspirants winner without any election
taking place anywhere. She said that the governor was the imposing somebody on the party as the delegates lists which were supposed to be used for the election were hidden from her and the other aspirants.
“They called us and asked us to step down for one unpopular aspirant and I said no that the processes must go on. There must be an election. You can’t do that to people like us in the 21st century. I have gone round the nine Local Government Areas in the district. The people are ready to vote for me. You can’t write figures, declare somebody winner when there was no election. I therefore call on the national chairman of APC not to accept any name from Imo East,” she said.
She insisted that those wrongly branded as thugs were plain clothed men of the DSS who accompanied her to the venue. “These are the people they are calling thugs. As a first lady, I am entitled to security aides and as an aspirant, I am equally entitled to know what is happening concerning the election, she said.”