The Imo state Governorship candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Senator Athan Achonu, on Sunday, warned that manipulators of election results would not have their way in the November 11, 2023, Imo governorship election.
Achonu spoke to newsmen in Owerri while reacting to the battle ahead of the Imo governorship election.
He was of the view that the Imo governorship election was going to be a stand-alone election and all eyes would be on the Imo state, on the security, INEC, and others. Therefore, it was the thinking of Achonu that Imolites should expect something new in the forthcoming governorship election in Imo.
According to Achonu, “This is a stand-alone election. It has never taken place before so expect something new to happen and nobody will rig us out. Labour Party has won without firing a shot. Also, It is an insult to say that Hope Uzodimma gave me money to sponsor me in this election how can that be? I have invested billions of naira so how can Hope sponsor me?
“I have invested billions in this state and the government frustrated it. The 10-story hotel building has been stopped by the government. I obtained a license to build a refinery and industrial layout in Imo and the government constructed a road to block my investment and many more.
“My partners are saying that before they can come into Imo state, they need a governor who is development oriented. Just like we have gotten it right in Abia state, we need it in Imo state and I am development oriented. I am right person for this job.”
He continued by saying: “On the issue of security, immediately I become governor, I will introduce local security because every security is local, and with that, our people will be involved in the business of securing their lives. And another thing, we must do away with this siege mentality. At every junction you see security checkpoint is not the best way for us.”
On how he wants to protect his votes, Achonu said: “You saw what happened in the last election, if not the amount of money shared by the government in the last election and even at that, you saw they lost. The labour party won. They shared thousands of dollars. I told our people to collect the money and vote according to their conscience. They listened to me and it happened that way.”
