Calistus Ihejiagwa, a Labour Party (LP) agent, was on Sunday morning beaten before being bundled out of the state collation centre for Saturday’s gubernatorial election in Imo.
His Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart was also ushered out of the centre.
Drama ensued at the collation centre in Owerri, the Imo State capital, around 5 am after the results from Orsu Local Government Area were announced.
Ihejiagwa had consistently objected to the results collated from the local government areas, saying the results brought before the state collation centre were at variance with what was on the Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
The LP agent called for a suspension of collation for certain reconciliation to be done between the numbers on the IReV and those brought by LGA collation officers.
Ihejiagwa and his PDP counterpart particularly contested the results announced for Orsu LGA, claiming that the figures presented were “manufactured” as no election was held in the LGA.
They were sharply reprimanded by the state returning officer, Prof. Abayomi Fashina, who accused them of trying to disrupt the collation process and ordered them to return to their seats.
The party agents, who shunned the returning officer’s order, were quickly mobbed by their colleagues, who beat up the LP agent.
The LP and PDP agents were eventually thrown out of the centre for collation to continue.
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A Labour Party representative is Bundled Out Of the Imo Collation Centre#ImoDecides2023 pic.twitter.com/jJSHkbzcOA
— Channels Television (@channelstv) November 12, 2023