Supporters of the current Ngatpang State Constitutional Government – whose members are alleged in the petition to have violated the constitution of the state – have come forward denying ever signing the Ngatpang’s Citizens’ February 26, 2008 Petition.“We have decided to collectively file an action suit against the people who masterminded petition,” said Gilbert Demei in a statement released to the media. “And their agents who ‘doctored’ and prepared the signature sheets.”In a phone interview with Demei, he said that he – and many others who allegedly signed the petition – did not sign the petition nor endorse the allegations stated in it. Further, he said that he did sign a nominating petition in February 2007 to nominate Martin Blodak as candidate for the Office of the Governor of Ngatpang State.“Someone or a group took the signature sheet of Blodak’s 2007 nomination, altered it, and attached it to the controversial petition prior to its distribution,” he said. “It is as if we knew of the petition and supported it.”According to Demei, his political affiliation is to the current elected leadership of the state; and like many others who allegedly supported the petition, feels that he was “robbed of his free and independent will” to voice his concerns for a given cause.Demei said that “Our names have been illegally used” and that whoever conjured the petition intentionally committed fraud.“Attaching our names to the petition without our knowledge is a criminal act,” he said. “Someone should be persecuted to the maximum extent of applicable laws for this act.”Many of the people on the list, according to Demei, are collectively preparing to file a suit against all individuals tied to the preparation and distribution of the February 26, 2008 Ngatpang’s Citizens’ Petition.
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