House of Representatives aspirant for Ughelli North/Ughelli South/Udu Federal Constituency of Delta State, Hon. Julius Akpovoka, has alleged a plot to manipulate the outcome of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) primary election in the constituency.
Akpovoka raised the allegation at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, insisting that although he emerged winner of the primary, there were ongoing efforts by the committee that conducted the exercise to alter the results.
He called on the national leadership of the party to intervene and ensure that the original outcome of the election is preserved, warning that any attempt to tamper with the figures would undermine the integrity of the party.
“My appeal is for the committee to do the rightful thing of what transpired from the field, to put my name there so they will not go and manipulate any figures to destroy the party’s name. Because the party anchors today in Nigeria is on integrity,” he said.
“So, that integrity must play out right now by the people sent to go and conduct this election. So, they should not go and turn figures around and give us different figures.”
Akpovoka said results were openly counted at the polling levels, adding that he secured the highest total votes across the three local government areas that make up the constituency.
He said he polled 1,205 votes in Ughelli North, while his closest rival, Chief Dr. Christopher, scored 205 votes.
“In Ughelli South too, the same thing also transpired. I scored 350, while Christopher scored 285. The returning officer there is Victor Ohare,” he said.
“Then in Udu, I scored 283, while the person higher there is 305. He defeated me by about 18 or 20 votes there.”
According to him, the overall collation gave him a total of 1,840 votes, while his closest rival polled 560 votes, and another aspirant scored 315 votes.
“So when you sum up the three figures together, the total figure of the three local areas, I scored 1,840. While Christopher scored 560, while the third person scored 315,” he added.
Akpovoka expressed confidence in the national leadership of the party, including former Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege and Sen. Seriake Dickson, to ensure fairness and uphold the integrity of the process.
He also said he was confident of victory in the general election if given the party’s ticket, describing the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) as weak in his constituency.
“In terms of popularity, in terms of canvassing votes, in terms of who reached out to the people, it’s not even up to 10% of me,” he said.
“To me, APC is not a match to me in my federal constituency. Once you give me the ticket, before 11 o’clock, not 12 o’clock, I have won my election,” he added.
