From: Felix Ikem, Nsukka
Few weeks to the November 4, 2017 local government election in Enugu State, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the state’s Independent Electoral Commission, (ENSIEC) of conniving with the ruling party Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to rig the forth-coming election.
The Udenu local government chairmanship candidate of the APC, Hon. Dr. Obinna Obetta, made this accusation during an interactive session with our reporter at Imilike-Enu during the party’s thanksgiving Mass.
Dr. Obetta stressed that the electoral umpire had not given APC a level-playing ground for the forth-coming election.
“The problem we have in this part of the world is that the election is never credible. We have information that PDP in collaboration with ENSIEC is going to hijack and rig the election. But we have the mercenary in place to make sure such thing does not happen. Right now, I don’t have faith in ENSIEC. I have said it that we are contesting against a biased umpire. APC as a party is not part of the people that constituted the commission, ENSIEC. The commission was constituted by only one political party. So, how do you expect ENSIEC to go against PDP that constituted it? It is not possible. Already the commission is biased. So, if the commission is independent as its name implies, that is when I will have confidence in them. But, the commission is so attached to the state, so I have lost confidence in them. The umpire is biased, I have to say that. But we believe that APC as a ruling party in this country, we are going to use everything legal to stop them from rigging the election.”
The medical practitioner-turned politician lamented the sorry state of his local government which according to him prompted him to contest for the chairmanship seat as lack of basic health facility, non-payment of workers salary, dilapidated road networks, lack of pipe-borne and electricity supply.
“As you can see, my people are suffering. And I have come to realise that my local government is not doing anything to ameliorate this situation. Workers are being owed salaries, there is no electricity supply; there is no road. In fact, there is no real presence of governance in my local government. The health service is dilapidated, in fact a lot of things are going wrong in our local government, but the most important thing is that common man is suffering, people are suffering. And that is why APC as a party has come out to help them to come out of this perpetual problem.”
Asked how he felt contesting with a ruling party candidate, Dr. Obetta explained that he saw it as an added advantage since PDP as a party has not done well in alleviating the suffering of the people.
“I see this as an added advantage. This is because PDP didn’t even do well. The PDP candidate didn’t even do well. He was given an opportunity to lead his people but he didn’t use it. He didn’t do well at all. For the period of eighteen months he was in the helm of affairs in the local government, the former Transition Committee Chairman never did well. He owed workers salaries running into so many months. He didn’t do anything.”
On the focal point of APC administration if elected in the local government, Dr. Obetta stressed that “we are going to focus on quality health care service which of course you know I am involved as a health practitioner. APC is going to make sure that there is steady electricity supply throughout the length and breadth of the local council area. We are also going to renovate roads which of course you know are now dilapidated.”
Dr. Obetta enjoined all the electorate in the local government to come en masse to defeat PDP in the council area.