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Religious leaders in Imo State, under the aegis of Church Leaders Forum, have expressed fear about voter apathy less than 10 days to the Imo State governorship polls, scheduled for November 11, promising to mobilize church members to ensure that they perform their civic responsibilities.
The Group, which noted that the reasons for the apathy might not be far-fetched, also called on the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu to hearken to the call of the political parties in the state, and redeploy the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof Sylvia Agu from the state.
Chairman of the forum, and former Imo State chairman of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Rev Cosmas Ilechukwu, said this at a press conference yesterday in Owerri, the Imo State capital
Dr Ilechukwu, who is the General Overseer of the Charismatic Renewal Missions (CRM), said the forum was very concerned about the November 11, lmo gubernatorial polls. He expressed fear that the polls might be marred by voter apathy, following serious insecurity in the state, and series of election violence that happened during the presidential, national and state assembly elections in the state.
He said: “Concerning the governorship election in Imo State on 11 November, Imo people are expected to go to the polls to elect a governor. The feelers we are getting from our monitoring teams is that voter apathy is likely to mar the exercise. The reason for the apathy is not far-fetched. Firstly, due to grave insecurity in the state and persistent bloodletting, voters will withdraw into their shells to save their lives. Secondly, the thuggery and manifest electoral offences that were glorified in sundry manners in the earlier elections this year are compelling the populace to believe that their votes would not count. We are worried about these very unfortunate and retrogressive narratives, and determined to work with all stakeholders to change the narratives.”
He added: “We also intend to hold an interface with the INEC to ensure that electoral officials, at all levels, will be professional and impartial in their conduct to ensure that the BVAS are used and results uploaded in real time, as they have promised. We passionately call on the INEC authorities to look into the plea of some political parties that are calling for the redeployment of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof Sylvia Agu, whom they said does not command their confidence, at least, for the November 11 Imo State governorship polls. Removing the REC should not be seen as a sign of weakness but a commitment to the neutrality of the electoral body.”
