By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – WITH 10 days to governorship election in Imo State, the Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC, Imo State Chapter, warned civil society groups to avoid creating confusion in the State by using their vantage position to confer undue advantages on candidates and political parties in the governorship race.

The IPAC, in a statement signed by its State leadership, Said partisanship by those groups could create confusion in the process and jeopardise peace and tranquility in the State.

The IPAC leadership alleged that prominent members of the civil society groups with loyalty to some political parties and other individuals in the State are plotting to use the civil society-managed Parallel Voter Tabulation, PVT, platform to discredit result of the governorship election if the result did not favour their own candidate.

The political parties’ platform also alleged of plans by some unnamed civil society arrowheads to “re-enact what they did during the last Osun State governorship election in Imo State”.

The IPAC leadership specifically accused YIAGA Africa, Situation Room, Enough is Enough Nigeria and Centre for Democracy and Development for being part of the alleged plot.

The statement reads in part, “We have monitored utterances and clandestine meetings by some of these so-called pro-democracy civil society groups.

“We are privy to their plans and the associations they keep among political actors in Imo State. We have no confidence in them and we don’t believe they would be impartial parties in this coming election.

“While we are in full support for citizens engagement and expansion of the civic space in the conduct of our elections, we would certainly not fold our arms and watch some elements sckew the process in favour of a party and destabilise the state in the process.”

Meanwhile, IPAC called the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Chairman of the Independence National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the Director-General of the Department of State Services, DSS, to investigate leaders of the accused civil society groups in and call them to order before they throw Imo State into a crisis