‘How I Escaped Plot to Disqualify Me From Anambra East/West Reps Race’ — Okonmah

By Olisemeka Sony

Frontline aspirant for the Anambra East and West Federal Constituency seat under the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Dr. Bobmanuel Chukwuemeka Okonmah, has alleged a coordinated attempt to disqualify him from the party’s House of Representatives primary through what he described as a fake political party registration and malicious petitions.

Okonmah made the allegations while addressing party stakeholders at Umuoba Abegbu Anam Ward in Anambra West Local Government Area on Sunday.

The ICT expert and public relations consultant claimed that the plot against him began after attempts to pressure him into stepping down from the race failed.

According to him, the alleged scheme reached its peak during the party’s screening exercise in Abuja, where a petition was reportedly presented before the panel accusing him of belonging to the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

Recounting the incident, Okonmah said he arrived at the screening venue fully prepared for what he believed would be a straightforward engagement with the panel, only to discover that “a trap had already been set.”

“When it was my turn to appear before the screening panel, I came with my credentials and prepared for a normal interaction. But immediately I dropped my documents on the table, they brought out a petition claiming that I was a member of ZLP,” he said.

“I was shocked because that was the first time I was hearing such an allegation. But the moment they showed me the ID card allegedly generated from the ZLP database, I immediately knew it was a poorly executed job.”

Okonmah said the alleged fake registration used one of his campaign photographs in which he appeared wearing a traditional red cap, insisting that the image alone exposed the manipulation.

“They used my campaign picture with a red cap for the registration. Everybody knows nobody registers for a political party wearing traditional regalia. It was obviously fabricated,” he stated.

The APGA aspirant said he immediately challenged the authenticity of the registration and informed the panel that the entire process could be traced and disproved through digital analysis.

“I told the chairman of the panel that what they had before them was fake and that somebody deliberately orchestrated it to stop me from contesting,” he said.

“He asked how I intended to prove it, and I told him that within five minutes, I could even register him in ZLP or any other political party because I have ICT expertise and background in data analysis.”

According to Okonmah, the panel initially asked him to “take a bow and go,” but he insisted on returning with evidence to clear his name.

Shortly after leaving the venue, he said he mobilized his legal and ICT teams to investigate the alleged registration.

“The first thing we did was to issue a disclaimer letter, which we stamped at the court and submitted to the screening panel. After that, my IT team began tracking the registration process,” he explained.

He disclosed that investigations later revealed that the registration was carried out using a fake email address and a different phone number that had no connection to him.

“When my team entered the backend of the system, we discovered that neither my personal email nor my phone number was used. They created a fake identity to execute the registration,” he alleged.

Okonmah further claimed that his team traced the digital trail used in the process, including the IP address and phone number allegedly linked to the perpetrators.

“In less than 24 hours, we completely demystified their tricks. We tracked the IP address and the phone number used to generate the fake email identity and security code,” he said.

He added that his legal team subsequently issued a formal demand to the Zenith Labour Party, requesting the removal of his details from its database within 12 hours or risk legal action.

“They complied immediately because what happened was criminal in nature,” he stated.

Okonmah said the screening panel eventually cleared him to contest the APGA primary after reviewing the evidence presented before it.

He also accused his detractors of sponsoring additional petitions falsely claiming that APGA had suspended him from the party.

“The petitioner didn’t stop at trying to link me to another political party. They also alleged that APGA suspended me. When that failed, they escalated the attacks by spreading rumours that we travelled to Abuja to bribe the screening panel,” he alleged.

“They used every possible strategy to stop me, but God did not allow their plans to prevail.”

Okonmah, however, assured stakeholders of his commitment to delivering quality representation to the people of Anambra East and West Federal Constituency if elected into the House of Representatives.

He said his extensive network of contacts in Abuja, combined with over 15 years of national and international exposure, would place him in a strong position to attract meaningful development and democratic dividends to the constituency.

“I am prepared to offer effective and high-quality legislative representation. With my experience, exposure and relationships across key institutions in the nation’s capital, I believe we can attract real development projects and opportunities to our constituency,” he said.

The APGA aspirant further pledged to prioritize youth empowerment, infrastructural development, education and improved welfare for constituents if he eventually secures the party’s ticket and wins the election next year.