A senior lecturer at the University of Benin is currently telling security agents all he knows about an attempt to doctor the National Assembly election result in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in Ovia Federal Constituency in Edo state.
Dr. Paul Uwujaren, who was employed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the Collation Officer in Edo State allegedly attempted to doctor the result by inflating the total number of votes cast for the PDP candidate, Mr. Charity Amaeyaevbo.
According to the police in Benin City, the university don falsified the results of the polls conducted in Ugbogui ward 8 of the Federal Constituency.
Dr. Uwujaren, who is now with the State CID in Benin City, allegedly added 8000 votes to the 1,123 votes in favour the PDP candidate after collecting the sum of N5 million.
The alleged unethical attitude had resulted in the delay in declaring the result in the constituency leading to confusion.
Immediately the election was concluded, Dr. Uwujaren was said to have disappeared while the people waited anxiously at Iguobazuwa.
He was not seen even 24 hours after the polls.
Worried by the development and after failed attempts through the telephone and SMS to contact the lecturer, the electoral officer of the area, Dr. Chinyere Amakiri, alerted the Divisional Police Officer in the area, Mr. Awe Francis.
The DPO was able to get Uwujaren into the collation centre where he later presented the score sheet for Ward 8 amidst tension.
The controversial score sheet showed that the PDP scored 10,123 votes while the ACN had 1,337 votes even when only 3,500 voters were said to have registered in the area.
Dr. Uwujaren’s insistence that the scores were valid, forced the electoral officer to order a recount of the votes for the unit which resulted in the discovery that the PDP actually scored 1,123 while the ACN 1,337.
The senior lecturer, who was immediately apprehended, confessed to the crime admitting that he was pressured by the PDP officials in the area to inflate the figure after the sum of N5million was paid into his account with a new generation bank.
Police sources have hinted that the PDP candidate would be invited for interrogation as the confession by the academic has indicted him.
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