Senator Athan Achonu, the Labour Party’s candidate in the 2023 Imo State governorship election, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of being an arm of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC). Achonu made this claim while reacting to the Supreme Court’s judgment affirming Governor Hope Uzodinma’s election victory. He described the country’s democracy as a circus, where the judiciary’s pronouncements outweigh the people’s votes.
Achonu criticized the manipulation of election results and the judiciary’s inability to ensure INEC’s impartiality. He emphasized that the people’s votes no longer decide who wins an election, but rather the judiciary. INEC’s spokesperson, MaryAnn Gods light, defended the commission’s independence, while APC’s publicity secretary, Cajethan Duke, dismissed Achonu’s claims as baseless.
Achonu expressed concern over the dangerous political culture introduced by the APC, where election results are manipulated, and the opposition is told to go to court. He urged patriotic Nigerians to be alarmed by the judiciary’s pronouncements outweighing the people’s votes. The Labour Party candidate’s claims have sparked a debate on the independence of INEC and the judiciary’s role in election matters.
