Theodore Orji threatens legal action over claimed he forced Inec to reverse result at gunpoint

FORMER Abia State governor Senator Theodore Orji has threatened to drag ex-gubernatorial candidate Alex Otti to court over allegations that forced the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) to reverse election results at gunpoint.

Mr Otti, a candidate at the last governorship election in the state, standing on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (Apga), claimed that Senator Orji forced Inec to reverse the result of the 2015 gubernatorial poll in favour of the incumbent governor, Okezie Ikpeazu. At the time, Senator Orji was leaving office and was backing Governor Ikpeazu, who was standing as the candidate of his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Now the senator representing Abia Central Senatorial district, Senator Orji denied ever forcing Inec to manipulate the result of the 2015 governorship elections in the state. Mr Otti had alleged that the former governor stormed Inec's headquarters in Umuahia while the results were being collated and forced the resident electoral commissioner to reverse the cancellation of the results from Obingwa and Osisioma local government areas.

Senator Orji said the Apga candidate lied and had only resorted to cheap blackmail having lost out on the polls. He explained that contrary to the allegation, at no time did he storm the Inec office and force the electoral commissioner to declare a false result at gunpoint.

 “I only went to protest the action of the state returning officer who rashly cancelled results from Obingwa and Osisioma local government areas after they had been declared by the respective returning officers,” Senator Orji added.

He stated that as a former Inec administrative secretary, he was fully aware that it was only the court and not a returning officer that has the powers to nullify an already declared result. Senator Orji said he had already directed his legal team to analyse the claims by Mr Otti and take necessary legal action.

Furthermore, the senator warned politicians to desist from the politics of bitterness and campaigns of calumny and focus on issues, instead of running down their opponents through falsehoods.