The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Ebonyi State has reportedly declared the Returning Officer for Ezza North/Ishielu Federal Constituency, Prof. Paul Obidike ‘wanted’ for allegedly disappearing with already collated, signed and stamped election results for the Federal Constituency.
According to online reports, the Ebonyi State INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs. Pauline Onyeka Ugochi, made the declaration while addressing newsmen on Monday, in Abakaliki, the state capital.
She said Obidike, a lecturer at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University, was alleged to have ‘disappeared’ with already signed and stamped results from Ebiaji, Ezza North Local Government Area headquarters, the collation and result announcement centre for the Federal Constituency to an unknown destination.
An APGA agent, Marcel Nwokpor who was at the Local Government Area told newsmen in an interview that the academic stormed out of the area without any reason or explanations while they were all waiting for him to announce the results.
The agent alleged that they alerted authorities of INEC that the whereabouts of the Returning Officer was unknown and they promised to reach him and get back to them.
“After a long wait, we sought for his phone number and called him but he denied being the Returning Officer. When we challenged him that his name and particulars are clearly published on the list of retuning officers, he quickly switched off his phone number: 08035067419. We are right now still waiting for him since morning when we last saw him here”.
