Imo State governor, Hope Uzodimma, has called on relevant security agencies to immediately arrest the spokesman of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), Ugochinyere, over the leak of INEC voters’ register.
Newsonline reports that the Imo State government also accused the opposition Peoples Democratic Party in the state of sponsoring the hacking of the server of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) using CUPP.
This was the position of the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Declan Emelumba, at a press conference in Owerri, Imo capital, on the allegation made by CUPP against Uzodimma, that the governor hacked into the server of the Independent National Electoral Commission to manipulate the voter registration data was mischievous.
Recall that CUPP had alerted the citizens within the week that about 40,000 non-existing registrants were added by the Imo state government after it had allegedly hacked the server of INEC to boost its chance of delivering the state for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, in the 2023 general election.
Declan said the allegation by CUPP showed that it must have the necessary information about the alleged hacking of the server which requires that the security agencies must invite them for further explanation.
READ ALSO: 2023 Election: Why Many Are Afraid Of Tinubu/Shettima Ticket- Sanwo-Olu
He said, “This is why we deem it necessary to call on the relevant security agencies to immediately arrest the said Ugochinyere to find out from him how he obtained the voters’ register he has been parading before the public even when the Independent National Electoral Commission is still at the stage of Automated Biometric Verification of the System, which must be concluded before an official voters register can be released to the public.”
He further added that the invitation and questioning of Ugochinyere would not be complete without arresting the leadership of the PDP in the state, whom he accused of sponsoring the alleged act by CUPP.
“Consecutively, it should be clear that the claim by Ugochinyere that there was fraudulent registration at Omuma, the ward of the Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, could have only come from a jaundiced and mischievous mindset,” Declan said.
The PDP spokesperson in Imo state, Collins Opuruozor, responded that the APC-led Hope Uzodimma administration had plans to diminish the influence of the opposition in the state to perpetrate crimes in the state without being challenged.
“We have the Director of DSS in Imo State, the commissioner of police, the Commander of 34 Artillery Brigade Command, Obinze, and none of them has accused opposition members of being behind insecurity in Imo State. But let me say it that any attempt to clamp down on the opposition will be counterproductive,” he said.
