I reported Returning Officer in Abia to INEC before election

The Governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, has claimed that the Returning Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, at the just-concluded March 18 governorship election, Professor Nnenna Oti, was “unfair” to political parties that participated in the poll.

Ikpeazu stated this during an interview with Channels TV on Monday night.

According to him, he conducted background checks on Oti and sent a complaint to INEC before the election.

On March 22, Oti, who is the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, announced Alex Otti of the Labour Party as the winner.

The declared results by the returning officer saw Otti poll 175,467 votes to defeat Okey Ahiwe and Enyinnaya Nwafor, who garnered 88,529 and 28,972 votes, respectively.

Six days later, Oti revealed to her staff and students that she was threatened and pressured during the elections, but she stood her ground.

In reaction to Oti’s comment, Ikpeazu said: “If I have met her, if I have spoken to her, let her come to the public and declare so. I’m shocked that she is making a big noise out of nothing.

“At some point, when I saw the coincidence in name and traced a little bit of her background, I complained to INEC that this lady was not going to be fair, but they assured me that they had profiled her.

“I am still shocked,” Ikpeazu added.