A meeting between executives of the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) and officials of the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC) in Owerri ended in chaos on Tuesday, September 17, 2025, as Chairmen and party leaders angrily staged a walkout.
The closed-door engagement, convened by ISIEC ahead of another round of local government elections, was expected to ease tensions following last year’s controversial poll.
Instead, it degenerated into heated exchanges that culminated in a stormy exit by IPAC representatives.
The session, which had in attendance ISIEC Chairman, Chief Charles Ejiogu, two commissioners of the electoral body, the Head of Voter Education and Publicity, the Head of Election Monitoring, the Head of Finance, the Secretary to the Commission, and other high-ranking ISIEC officials, quickly turned sour as disagreements took centre stage.
On the side of IPAC, the delegation was led by its Imo State Chairman, Ichie Levi Eke, alongside the council’s executives and chairmen of various political parties operating in the state.
Their presence was seen as a strong signal of the seriousness with which IPAC approached the talks.
Details of the discussions remain sketchy, but multiple sources told this newspaper that the session was far from cordial.
Raised voices, finger-pointing, and visible frustration reportedly characterised the meeting before IPAC members abruptly walked out.
At the heart of the dispute, according to insiders, is IPAC’s longstanding complaint about the lack of government support for its activities in Imo State.
Across the federation, state governments usually provide funding and logistical support to IPAC as the umbrella body for registered political parties.
However, in Imo, the situation appears markedly different.
“The opposite is the case here, and this is unacceptable to IPAC,” a source close to the meeting told INNONEWS, reflecting the council’s dissatisfaction with the current arrangement.
IPAC leaders, it was gathered, viewed the indifference of the Imo State government as part of a wider attempt to weaken political parties ahead of local government elections.
Some participants at the meeting described ISIEC’s posture as dismissive and unresponsive to genuine concerns.
Sources at the meeting noted that ISIEC officials struggled to calm tempers as the arguments escalated. By the time IPAC leaders rose from their seats and filed out of the hall, the atmosphere was said to be “charged and irreconcilable.”
The walkout has sparked speculation about a looming standoff between political parties in Imo State and the State electoral umpire, with concerns that the next round of local government polls in 2026 may face boycotts.
As of press time, neither ISIEC nor the Imo State government had issued an official response, though IPAC is expected to brief the press in the coming days on its next line of action.
