Imo PDP chair carpets ISIEC over planned LG poll

By CHIDI NKWOPARA

OWERRI—Imo State leadership of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has described the proposed plan by the State Independent Electoral Commission, ISIEC, to conduct local government poll as a ruse.

State Chairman of the party, Chief Eze Duruiheoma, SAN, stated this while reacting to the announcement issued by the commission’s Chairman, Mr. Teddy Obi Akwari.

He wondered how ISIEC could go on with the planned local government election when there was a valid court order to the contrary, adding that going ahead with the plan was tantamount to fleecing unsuspecting citizens.

“There is a subsisting judgment of the Court of Appeal. This valid judgment is contrary to the current stand of ISIEC and it stands to reason that anybody talking about local council election in April is talking nonsense,” Duruiheoma said.

The Imo PDP boss affirmed that he would not encourage the party’s followership to buy forms as what ISIEC plannned to do was an exercise in futility.

“I will not encourage PDP loyalists to purchase the purported electoral forms. What Imo State Government and its ISIEC management are planning remains an exercise in futility,” Duruiheoma said.

He said there couldn’t be any validly conducted local council election unless there was a contrary judgment by a properly constituted law court.

He said:  “PDP will readily boycott any such exercise in the state, if ISIEC decides to flout the Court of Appeal judgment and go ahead to conduct election.”