INEC Certificate: Okorocha Demands Explanation Why Name was Removed

The Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha, has maintained that he won the Imo West Senatorial election in the state but a bit surprise of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC’s decision not to issue him his certificate of return.

The governor stated this a news conference in Abuja on Thursday March 14, 2019.

According to him, maybe the electoral umpire is cooking up something great for him because he clearly won the election against the claims of the Electoral Office, Francis Ibeabuchi.

“Maybe INEC wants to organise a special programme for me to hand over the certificate to me but clearly, I’ve won and it was a peaceful election,” he said.

He noted that INEC had yet to offer any explanation as to why his name was missing from the list of senators-elect who were presented with their certificates of return on Thursday.“INEC has removed my name from the list of senators, having been declared the winner. I am in darkness as to what is the reason why I am not invited to collect my certificate of return,” he fumed.

READ ALSO: Withholding My Certificate Of Return Can Cause Tension In Imo – Okorocha

Recall that INEC had on Tuesday released a list of elected federal lawmakers of the ninth(9th) National Assembly elected during the February 23 elections when it announced that it would present certificates of return to them on Thursday, but removed Governor Rochas Okorocha’s name over allegations that the returning officer was made to declare him winner of the election “under duress”.

But Okorocha insisted that the claim by the returning officer was only a ploy to cripple his political career.