Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State has directed the state’s Peoples Democratic Party supporters to move to their polling units on election days by 6am, to prevent  electoral malpractices.

Umahi gave the directive on Friday at Ikwo Local Government Area during the flag-off of his election campaign, urging the supporters to remain at the polling units after casting their votes.

“Nobody should attempt any form of malpractice because we will resist such with everything we have.

“When I was asked to sign the peace accord by the Inter-Party Advisory Committee, I signed but said that the Independent National Electoral Commission and security agencies should actually sign the accord.

“There will be peace if they say let there be peace and if they refuse, there will not be,” he said.

The governor indicated that anybody collecting gratifications to perpetuate malpractices during the elections was risking his life because Ebonyi people would not agree to such.

“Anyone coming for elections in the state should do the right thing because we are not asking for favours, having been blessed by God.

“Henceforth, appointments into governmental positions will not be based on local government area considerations but on support to the PDP and its candidates.

“Do not allow people to deceive you with all sorts of insinuations as everybody supporting the PDP must vote for the party’s candidates.

“We are commencing our house-to-house campaign from Sunday, January 20, and party faithful should post their findings on our social media platform,” he said.

He also added that the campaign was flagged-off in Ikwo Local Government due to the electoral success recorded when such flag-off commenced in the area in 2015.

“You gave 90 per cent of your votes when an incumbent governor from the area was not supporting us and you hadn’t a present deputy governor, three commissioners and other appointments.

“I am optimistic that you will give us 100 per cent presently with our infrastructural strides in roads and plans to make the Oferekpe water scheme functional, among others,” the governor said.

Dr Kelechi Igwe, the Deputy Governor, who hails from the area, thanked the governor for replicating the flag-off of the campaign in the area and assured of the peoples’ total support.

“The women of the area and decampees from the All Progressive Congress have donated Sienna buses respectively in appreciation of your numerous developmental strides and to support your re-election,” he said.

Chief Uche Secondus, the PDP National Chairman, urged the electorate to vote for all PDP candidates from the presidential to the House of Assembly level.

The chairman, represented by Chief Austin Umahi, the party’s National Vice-Chairman-South East Zone, said that the journey to the party’s electoral victory in 2015 started in Ikwo Local Government Area and expressed optimism, that there would be a repeat performance.

The occasion witnessed the defection of All Progressives Congress supporters to PDP, presentation of PDP candidates from the area and goodwill messages from party faithful among others.