By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
A former member of the National Assembly, Senator Stephen Odey, has debunked allegation making the rounds that he supervised the detention of People’s Democratic Party, PDP, polling agents assigned to Yache ward for election special duty, as hostages.
Another allegation against the former lawmaker was that he was in possession of fake BVAS machines, which his accuser claimed must have probably been used for the manipulation of election results.
Odey dispelled the allegations while reacting to claims by the opposition PDP that he ordered the arrest and holding as hostages of PDP agents assigned on election duty in Yache ward his (home town) to frustrate the PDP in the ongoing presidential/National Assembly elections.
In a telephone conversation with our reporter, Odey, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, denied every allegations.
He said, “You know I can’t do that. I am aware of this baseless allegations. I just can’t do that. If my party must win the elections, I play by the rules.
“I have heard all sort of lies told against me regarding the Saturday’s poll. People can be so ungrateful, this is the same ward that produced 9,000 votes that aided Senator Jarigbe to win the House of Representatives election in 2009, when I work for him as Director General, DG, of his campaign organisation and today he is busy crying wolf!
“What a shame! I won a senatorial election, he passed behind and stole my mandate. Is that how friendship is done and you think my people would be happy with him?
“I am shocked that the same Yache ward that produced only 5,000 votes in the Saturday’s poll, is sending cold to his spine.
“If you were to hail from my community wouldn’t you have voted against Jarigbe? For someone who deprived their illustrious son the opportunity of being in the Senate, coming out to seek for election and you think my people won’t be angry?
“The answer is yes, my people have the right to be angry and the only way to express such anger is to vote him out!”
The academic and former lawmaker maintained that he couldn’t have been in possession of any BVAS machine, given the fact that he not a staff of the Independent Natıonal Electoral Commission, INEC.
He asked, “Senator Jarigbe, who is the current law maker, does he have any BVAS machine?”
