By CHIBUIKE NWABUKO
Abuja (Sundiata Post) – Ahead of the February 2023 presidential election, a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Dr Charles Ugomuoh, has expressed confidence that with the deloyment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will deliver free, fair and credible poll.
He said: “I have confidence in INEC because of the BIVAS – you accredit, you vote and it is remitted. So if INEC keeps to that we will have a credible election.”
Ugomuoh, who was a senatorial candidate for Imo East in the 2019 general election, stated this on Tuesday while fielding questions from journalists shortly after his endorsement of the Labour Party’s Peter Obi for president at a press briefing in Abuja.
According to him, his endorsement of Peter Obi is in consideration of his proffered genuine solution to the myriad of challenges facing the country ranging from economic, insecurity and infrastructural deficit. Others are: The mantra of Nigerians to take back their country; his avowed decision to enthrone political will in governance which will be the statecraft needed to curb insecurity and corruption by putting square pegs in square holes; his agrarian revolution strategy; his proposed unification of the country through all inclusive government, equality.equity, justice and fair play will engender the desired peace and harmony to move the country forward.
He therefore called on Nigerians to rise, join hands and support Peter Obi to rescue the country for a new Nigeria of our dreams.
The Retired AIG lamented that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar are of the same trajectory with incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and will not bring any desired change to the suffering and impoverished citizens of Nigeria. “We don’t need a president who will be ruling us from outside – always on medical tourism,” he said.
In contrast, Ugomuoh stressed that Obi is coming on mantra of change – political will to take that determined decision at the appropriate time and that is what we want.
On the alleged lack of structure by the Labour Party (LP) the retired senior AIG reminded that the structure is the people and that the Labour Party has the demography of the youths. He expressed optimism that Obi is going to be the president of this country.
In his words, “The structure is the people and LP has the demography of the youths and you know the percentage of youths in this country, so we are hopeful we will win this election. Where structure comes in is in having agents at the polling booths and these youths are on ground.”
On whether the suspension of the LP’s National Youth Leader who is central to the youth movement for Obi-Datti campaign will affect the victory of the party at the polls, Ugomuoh said though the youth forms demography of LP, this doesn’t preclude instilling discipline where necessary as the party has made discipline part of its bedrock. He emphasised that whatever has happened is an allegation, so after suspension and investigation, things will normalise.
Sundiata Post recalls that Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) is an electronic device designed to read Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and authenticate voters – using the voters’ fingerprints – in order to prove that they are eligible to vote at a particular polling unit.
