About 60 political parties and their candidates are threatening to scuttle the elections over alleged deliberate plan by the electoral body in Anambra State to exclude them from the race.
They have made good their threat with a protest at the INEC headquarters Awka over the commission’s ploy not to issue them with party agents’ tags for Saturday, February 16, elections.
But source from INEC indicate that most of these political parties have no visible office and fielded Few candidates. Few hours to the Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections, the electoral body was yet to issue party agents with the tags to represent the party and the agents.
It was gathered that the vehicle conveying the party agents tags from Owerri, Imo state capital broke down on the way.
As at 7.30 pm, there was no hope of the vehicle reaching Awka headquarters of INEC. The Guardian gathered that, in the alternative, INEC promised to provide an improvised party agent identification card, pending the arrival of the materials from Imo State.
An aggrieved House of Representatives candidate for Awka North and South federal constituency, Jude Osita of the Providence Peoples Congress said he was still waiting at INEC to collect his party agents’ tags.
Osita wondered: “How can the election of Saturday hold when the agents who are the eye of both the party and candidate are not issued with the tags.
“I don’t have confidence on INEC to conduct the elections and same with other candidates and party Chairmen assembled here.
“We don’t even know if the February 16, 2019 elections will take place. I suspect INEC is working with Presidency, as at now.
“All parties including PDP are still waiting. As a candidate, I saw some staff going out with materials which are inadequate.
“That indicates things are not in order”.
Osita pointed out that his plight is worsened by the fact that he might not have the basis to petition the tribunal because his agents have been excluded from the poling units
Also, Emma Okafor, Chairman, of the PPC said: “We came here to ask for the party agents tags,but they keep promising us that it would come, but nothing is forthcoming.
“I’m feeling they want to rig the election and the only people to report on what transpires at the Wards are the agents.
“Something is fishing. Rigging has already started. If you don’t give an agent tag, police will not allow them to monitor the poll.
“If there is not agent tag, nobody will go there”.
Corroborating him, Nelson Ihenatuoha, the state chairman of Better Nigeria Peoples Party (BNPP) expressed worry with the failure of INEC to issue release the party agents tags, stressing that without the tags, the aggrieved parties and candidates are constrained from seeking redress from the tribunal.”
In his contribution, a chieftain of the PDP, Charles Obiora Anueyiagu bemoaned the fate of candidates who according to him campaigned vigorously only for them to be denied the opportunity to participate in the poll.
According to Anueyiagu who is state coordinator of PDP Loyal Group 100 Percent, party agents should be visible at the polls for credibility sake, adding that without them the polls lose their shine.
Also speaking Peter Okala who is the state chairman of National Conscience Party, agents are part and parcel of the polling unit and account on the credibility or otherwise of polls
