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How I Survived Threats, Inducement Not To Manipulate Results – Prof. Oti

Micheal Chukwuebuka, Reporting

THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Returning Officer in the Abia State governorship election, Prof. Nnenna Oti, has revealed how she survived threats and intimidation not to manipulate the March 18 governorship and House of Assembly elections results.

Stonix News recalled that before the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Mr Alex Otti, was declared the governor-elect last Wednesday, collation of the results for Obingwa Local Government Area (LGA) were briefly suspended by INEC.

INEC

The development had aroused tension among the electorate and stakeholders in the state over fears of possible manipulation.

Prof. Oti, who is also the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), gave the revelation on Tuesday while being triumphantly welcomed by the management, staff and students to the university.

She stated that before the final declaration of the result, she was promised a huge monetary incentives to circumvent the will and mandate of the people of Abia, but that she remained resolute in the face of intense intimidation and threats.

“As an electoral officer, I have never in my life participated in any election, but duty came calling; I made my enquiries from Abuja.

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“If I perish, I perish; they came with their threats, they came with their money, they came with their intimidation,” she narrated.

According to her, as a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) and a mother, she drew strength from her time-honored ideals and principles to ensure that the will of the people of Abia prevailed and that their votes counted during the election.

“I didn’t start today; I stand here before God, Jesus Christ. I have never defrauded anyone, all I did was to declare the riot act as follows: ‘Under me, votes must count. Under me, the people’s mandate will be upheld because I, Professor Nnnena Oti, can never do evil,'” she said.

Stonix News reports that her return to the FUTO campus was greeted with pomp as members of the university community drumbed and danced from the gate of the institution down to her office in celebration of a heroin of democracy in Nigeria.

Her noble courage became a yardstick worthy of celebration following accusations against university vice chancellors who were drafted to superintendent over election exercise only to sell victory to the highest bidders.

The results declared by Professor Oti, after the after the restoration of collation last week Wednesday, saw Alex Otti scoring 175,467 votes to defeat Okey Ahiwe and Enyinnaya Nwafor, who got 88,529 and 28,972, respectively.

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