It was a moment of sorrow to the Labour party national chairman, Barr. Julius Abure and the party 2023 governorship candidate in the state, Hon. Chijioke Edeoga have both lamented on the Supreme Court judgement which ratified the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate as the winner of March 18, poll.
Hon. Edeoga in his astonishment question the logic behind the apex court judgement which ratified what he called ‘the fraud’ that took place during the March 18 governorship poll.
However, the National Chairman of the party, Barr. Julius Abure said LP presidential candidate Peter Obi and the Enugu state governorship candidate, Chijioke Edeoga were the major victims of the electoral fraud of the 2023 general election.
Edoega made the disclosure at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja when he came to thank the party’s leadership for offering him the platform to run for the governorship election.
He said he was rigged out in the March 18th 2023 election by the collusion of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Enugu state PDP led government.
Edeoga noted that he was yet to come to terms with the final judgement against him even with the obvious evidences that supports his victory and pleaded with the Party to support electoral act reform.
He said, “We disagree with the judgment of the court, but accept it nevertheless as coming from the highest court in the land. Our belief is that the goal of elections and the judicial process should be to arrive at the same popular choice of the electorates.
“The electoral brigandage and vote rigging are the most dangerous things that can happen in a democracy. Because the people who vote are voting on the basis of their prayers, based on their frustrations and their expectations, but as soon as they cast their votes, the votes disappeared. So, anything we can do to protect the sanctity of votes, we should do. The votes means someone’s approval for a candidate. It is more than a physical act. It is not just a symbolic act, it has a spiritual dimension.
“After the Supreme Court judgement, many people have not come to terms with it. A lot of people are facing one ill health or the other. The judgement threw Enugu into a mourning condition. I have not come to terms with it and I will never come to terms with it. But I have to come here to tell you that the ticket you gave me, I did not play with it, I did not trade with it, I did not bargain with it. I knew that my people entrusted their mandate to me but it was not my fault, I tried my best. I came to say thank you. I came to say, I am here send me to continue the work of national redemption.”
In his response, LP National Chairman, Abure said , “It is very clear that they robbed us of that election. It was done in collusion with INEC officials and PDP government in Enugu state. The whole world is aware of it. Even before you spoke about electoral reforms the party has decided since last year that we are going to pursue electoral reforms in Nigeria. And that what happened to us in the general election will never happen to us again.
“We believe that the starting point is to begin early enough with the pursuit of electoral reform because we saw all the antics that played out between the national assembly and the presidency in the past electoral reform. And as I speak with you, we are already constituting the committee that will give us the framework for the review. We also decided that Labour Party will not be a spectator and that we will be the drivers of that processes.”
“I have made it clear that the major victim of the 2023 general election is the Labour Party. And therefore we cannot be seen to take back seat in the pursuit of electoral reform and in defence of our votes. And since you are a major victim, one major victim after Peter Obi of electoral fraud in Nigeria, you will be in the best position to help the party and the Nigeria generally to resolve this crisis in our hand,” he said.
