Prof. Nnenna Oti, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Returning Officer in the Abia State governorship election, has revealed that she was offered financial incentives to manipulate the election results.
The collation of the results for Obingwa Local Government Area (LGA) were briefly suspended by INEC before Alex Otti was declared the governor-elect last Wednesday, causing tension among the electorate and stakeholders in the state.
Oti, who is also the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology Owerri, disclosed the revelation on Tuesday during a welcome ceremony by the management, staff, and students of the university.
She remained resolute in the face of heavy intimidation and threats, stating that she stood on her ideals and principles not to short-change anyone and ensured that the will of the people of Abia prevailed and that their votes counted during the election.
The declared results by the returning officer saw the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Alex Otti score 175,467 votes to defeat Okey Ahiwe and Enyinnaya Nwafor, who got 88,529 and 28,972, respectively.