By Chidi Nkwopara

OWERRI—The last may not have been heard about the botched re-run elections in Imo State, as  the leadership of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, has asked Governor Rochas Okorocha to “apologize to the citizenry for the riotous misconduct of All Progressives Congress, APC, youths that led to the rescheduling of the exercise.”

Gov. Rochas Okorocha

The APC youths had last Friday, held the staff of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Owerri, hostage and effectively grounded movement in and out of the electoral umpire’s premises in Owerri.

Addressing journalists in Owerri yesterday, the State Publicity Secretary of APGA, Dr. George Nkworji, described the scenario as “an act of hooliganism and lawlessness.

“The act of hooliganism and lawlessness exhibited by APC members is condemnable. The Governor should apologize for sending hoodlums to INEC instead of party officials,” Nkworji said.

He reminded Okorocha that as the chief security officer of the state, he should always be mindful of any act that can jeopardize the security of the state.

While urging the governor to adequately punish his aides, who deployed and commanded those unruly thugs to breach the peace of the state, Dr. Nkworji however added that “this was the first time Imo State was recording that level of political lawlessness”.

Continuing, Nkworji said “it is confounding that a ruling party could brazenly truncate elections it organized”, adding that this shows that the APC is bereft of ideas for the development and sustenance of democracy.

“The government discovered that it was going to lose out, contrary to its posturing, and the only way to dodge the shame was the resort to rioting, to create a wrong impression of insecurity”, Nkworji said.