- Kenneth Okonkwo, has accused the INEC of election result manipulation.
- He claims that the official vote count for Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, does not align with the announced results.
- Okonkwo alleges that INEC fabricated and allocated votes to Obi, particularly in significant states like Lagos and Rivers.
Kenneth Okonkwo, a legal expert and former spokesperson for the Labour Party’s (LP) presidential campaign, has raised serious allegations against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), accusing the body of manipulating the election results in favor of LP’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
In an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Okonkwo claimed that the vote count for Peter Obi did not match the official results that were announced. He asserted that INEC had fabricated and allocated votes to Obi, particularly in key states such as Lagos and Rivers.
According to Okonkwo, Obi’s victory was significantly larger than the final results suggested, especially in Lagos and Rivers States, but he believes that these figures were altered by INEC. “There has been no credible explanation for this discrepancy to this day,” Okonkwo said, further stating, “The results given to Obi were not actual votes; they were allocated to him.”
He continued by highlighting the specific manipulation in Rivers State, where he insists that the official results did not reflect the true outcome. Okonkwo also responded to a question about the lack of polling unit agents assigned by the party, stating, “While the Electoral Act acknowledges that not all parties can afford agents in every polling unit, it is assumed that INEC would act impartially and ensure fair elections. With a budget of 400 billion naira allocated to INEC, there should have been no need for such concerns over manipulation.”
While the courts have not confirmed any direct falsification of results, Okonkwo pointed out that the absence of substantial evidence to prove this claim was a significant obstacle in legal proceedings.
Okonkwo’s comments continue to fuel concerns about the transparency of the electoral process in Nigeria, particularly regarding the role of INEC in ensuring credible elections.
