Governor
Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has declared
that INEC was not prepared for the re-run elections in the state, noting that
the challenges that greeted the elections would have been avoided if the
commission had prepared for the polls.
He
expressed regret that some areas in the state did not have result sheets, which
could lead to violence as the people suspect foul play.
Speaking after he voted at Ward 9 Unit 7 in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Wike said information available to him indicated that INEC failed to take necessary measures to ensure credible polls.
He
said: “It is obvious that INEC was not prepared for the re-run elections. They
refused to tell members of the public the challenges they hard “.
The accreditation process for the governor was cumbersome as two card readers were used severally before the governor was eventually accredited to vote. However, his wife, Justice Suzzette, was accredited smoothly.
The governor told journalists that in several polling units, information of scanned results were received.
He,
however, gave pass mark to the security agencies for maintaining law and order
in the state.
Meanwhile, soldiers in Port Harcourt arrested nine persons with election materials.
Meanwhile, soldiers in Port Harcourt arrested nine persons with election materials.
However two of the suspects told journalists that they did not do anything untoward.
PDP,
the ruling party in the state, alleged that soldiers in Ogoniland arrested the
Secretary to the State Government, Kenneth Kobani, and also the Special Adviser
to Wike on Special Projects, Cyril Dum Wite. The party also alleged that many
of its members were beaten up.
A statement issued by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Rivers PDP Chairman, Felix Obuah, Jerry Needam, alleged that soldiers at the INEC centres in Gokana and Khana local government areas beat the Commissioner for Environment, Professor Roseline Konya, to a state of coma.
“The
Secretary to the State Government, Hon Kenneth Kobani, Special Adviser on
Special projects to the State Governor, Hon Cyril Dum Wite and over 2000 PDP
members across the state have been beaten, arrested and detained by the
Nigerian Army drafted to conduct the election by Mr Rotimi Amaechi, Magnus Abe
and the APC.”
Describing
the action of the military against Rivers people and members of the PDP as
genocide, the party said, “The Nigerian Army disobeyed two separate court
orders, restraining them from participating in Rivers re-run election and in
Rivers South East Senatorial District of the State.
“All
electoral materials for Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State have been
hijacked by Barry Mpigi assisted by the soldiers.
“Attempts by voters to resist the hijack of the election materials led to the killing of two pregnant women and scores of people, by armed men in military uniform.
“Election
in the 15 units of Ward 3, Oyigbo Local Government Area of the State were also
disrupted and materials taken away by soldiers of the Nigerian Army, who shot
sporadically while carting away all electoral materials.”
The party called on INEC to cancel the re-run election in Tai, Oyigbo, Gokana, Khana and all other local government areas of the state, where soldiers had allegedly connived with the APC to hijack electoral materials, kill, maim, destroy properties, arrest and detain PDP members.
Also
following the delay in the collation process of the results of the election,
PDP is alleging deliberate ploy by INEC officials to connive with members of
the APC to rig the election.
The
apprehension is due to the fact that as at 11: 06pm, collation materials were
yet to be given to the polling officers to present results of the election, a
development that agents of the PDP described as “orchestrated” plan to manipulate
the outcome of the election.
Reacting
to the development yesterday night at the Port Harcourt Registration Area
Centre (RAC), the Rivers State Commissioner for Urban Planning and Physical
Development, Mr. Chinyere Igwe, who is also the agent of the PDP senatorial
candidate for Port Harcourt LGA, alleged that the delay was part of a game
plan.
“INEC started well by saying that accreditation should go on with voting. That was a very good decision. So, by 3 o’clock voting had been concluded, so all things being equal we are not supposed to be here by this time. That is what made me say that there was an orchestrated plan to rig this election. From 8am till now (11: 06), INEC has not released collation material to 20 collation officers.
“Fortunately,
the REC came in and saved the situation that is why we have some respite now;
he ordered that they should release the materials that are ready and come back
to the state office that he would give them more materials. The result should
have been announced by now,” Igwe said.
Repeated
calls to the APC Publicity Secretary, Mr. Chris Finebone, for clarification on
the issue and several other allegations against the party yielded no result as
he did not pick his calls. However, the Special Adviser, Media to the Rivers
State APC chairman, Dr. Davis Ibiamu, Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, who spoke on the allegations
of the PDP were baseless.
“Our
reaction to PDP’s accusation of master minding the arrests of the SSG, Kenneth
Kobani, SA on Special Projects and beating up of Roseline Konya and of being
quiet about the collation of results because we want to manipulate its final
outcome; why should we mastermind the arrest of Kobani?
“What
is his political relevance? Does his position as SSG place him above the law? Are
we the one that asked him to be lawless that warranted his arrest? We are
orderly and decent group that wants the best for Rivers State.
“Rt.
Hon. Amaechi who is a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was directed
by the Deputy Inspector General of Police to vote and leave for his residence
and he complied, then who is Kobani to be moving around intimidating voters in
polling units that he does not belong to? Is it because he belongs to PDP that
makes him to be above the law? He contravened the law and must face the music…”
Reacting
to PDP allegation that APC connived with INEC to delay the announcement of
result in order to rig the election, he said “we need not exchange words with
PDP all the time on issues that are very clear to the public. We all know that
PDP in Rivers State is a lawless society that believes in the manipulation of
electoral results and that is why the court could nullify almost all their 2015
electoral victories. We have seen all the fake results they have continued to
dish out to the public through the social media but to us we can only wait for
the results announced by INEC before we can make any comment. We are not
lawless like PDP to manipulate any result.”
Generally,
there was a large turnout of voters for the highly anticipated Rivers State
rerun elections to fill state House of Assembly, House Representatives and
Senate seats held under heavy security but the process was marred by violence,
alleged use of fake result sheets and late arrival of election materials to
polling units.
Despite
the fact that elections were expected to have been concluded by 2pm in various
polling units across the state election materials and Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) staff were not sighted as at 1pm in some cases.
Though
there were initial concerns that over 2000 police officers were not promptly
deployed to the various polling units to protect INEC officials, the Rivers
State Police PRO, DSP, Ahmad Muhammed said that everything was going as
planned.
According
to him, “16, 000 regular policemen in addition to mobile officers have been
deployed for the election,” he added that “the officers on ground were just on
standby,” to complement where necessary.
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