MEET FRANK OSHANUGOR
By Frank Oshanugor
In apparent reaction to widespread fear in Anambra State that a certain political party had concluded plans to rig the November 6, 2021 Governorship election, the candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Senator Ifeanyi Ubah has restated his confidence in the credibility of the forthcoming election.
He said Anambra was too sophisticated for anybody to attempt to rig the election, stressing that he had the mechanisms to announce the results before the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Ubah who spoke in Nnewi on Monday, said a lot of factors had indicated that the election would be credible.
He said, “I have my own situation room, and I have over 80,000 canvassers in the state. We have as much as 500 canvassers in some wards, we have just a little over 5,000 polling stations in the state.”
“We will have people in all of them, and let me tell you, once the election is over, we would have collated all the results and known the outcome, even before INEC announces the result.”
The lawmaker maintained that INEC had integrity to protect beyond the Anambra poll.
He added, “What people don’t understand is that we have an INEC chairman that also wants history to remember him positively. He also needs to show people that he is not a man that is found wanting. Remember that election is coming up in 2023.
“The general election is very critical, and the Anambra election is a signpost to how that one will go. If the INEC chairman compromises, then he would have shown that he is not a man to be trusted.
“It is only a rumour, and people are buying into it that a particular candidate has the ear of everybody and will rig the election, but it is not true. Even Mr. President himself will not stake his credibility for Anambra election. He is already on his way out, so I wonder why he will want to destroy his personality by rigging Anambra election?”
Ubah said those who believed the election would be rigged were naive, because Anambra is a politically conscious state, and also ready to ensure that it protects its votes.
“Anambra is not a state that is backward, social media-wise. People are very aware here, and even before you release a wrong result, people would have had it on social media already, ” he stressed.
