Abia CPC Engages Forensic Experts Over Polls

The Congress for Democratic Change (CPC) has engaged the services of forensic experts to investigate ballot papers used during the governorship election in Abia.

Chief Ako Atuloma, CPC governorship candidate at the 2011 April polls, said this in Umuahia on the moves by the party to challenge the result of the election at the tribunal. He said: “I have not been able to talk since the announcement of the results because the outcome made me speechless. ”Atuloma said that the result as announced by the electoral body was doctored to favour the incumbent. “It is unthinkable that a governor who was booed and jeered at every rally he attended will sweep the whole poll,” he said. Atuloma said that what baffled him was the allocation of 1700 votes to him across the state, adding that his agents alone surpassed such figure, while the governor scored over 95 per cent of total votes cast. He said that the party at no time congratulated the governor on the victory, adding that such victory would not stand. He said that though the 2011 witnessed some remarkable improvements, “but if we want to conduct credible elections, the bad eggs in INEC must not be allowed to remain”. Atuloma noted that NYSC members should not be used in future elections, stressing that such people were easily compromised by the authorities. “It is a shame that the people we claim are the leaders of tomorrow are the ones destroying the future of this country. “The NYSC members should not be used again because they are most corrupt than the people there before,” he said. Atuloma, who cited an instance where he caught a corps member selling ballot papers to some government officials, said “they are terrible”. He advocated for the use of civil servants during elections, adding that “civil servants have better things at stake and should be used