Rivers elections: APC defends military, accuses INEC of working for Wike

The All Progressives Congress in Rivers State on Tuesday said
officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission in the
state were cooperating with Governor Nyesom Wike to announce
‘concocted’ results from the Saturday’s elections.

The party praised the military, which the Peoples Democratic
Party, on the other hand, had accused of interference in the Rivers
elections. The military on Monday denied the accusation.

It is the APC’s first direct public involvement in the Rivers
elections conundrum since it endorsed African Action Congress
candidate, Biokpomabo Awara, to challenge Mr Wike of the PDP last
week.

The party did not field candidates in the Rivers State elections
due to a court order that barred it following its internal
crisis.

INEC suspended the electoral process in the state on Sunday and
the parties, as well as observers, now await the outcome of the
commission’s investigation of reports of disruptions that affected
voting and collation of results on Saturday.

Read APC’s full statement below

THE MILITARY DESERVE COMMENDATION FOR SECURING THE PEACE
THAT ENABLED RIVERS PEOPLE TO CAST THEIR VOTES …WIKE, INEC
RE-WRITING UNIT RESULTS IN GOVT HOUSE – RIVERS APC

Firstly, it is important that I clarify that the Rivers
State Chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC, was an active
stakeholder in last weekend elections and the reason is that we
formally endorsed and adopted the AAC governorship candidate, Engr
Awara Biokpomabo.

1. We are dismayed that critical stakeholders including
those who witnessed the killing of over 40 persons on the 2015
governorship election day alone due to someone’s quest to become
governor by all means, appear to be hoodwinked by the very same
character to believe that security agents especially the Army
should have stayed away to allow a repetition of what happened in
2015.

2. As a party that was solely at the receiving end of
killings in Rivers State by the ruling PDP and their agents, the
APC believes that the proactive steps taken by security agents to
checkmate a repeat of the 2015 killings and destructions, is
commendable and should be applauded by all peace-loving people. We
believe that if such a step was taken before or during the 2015
elections and thereafter, prominent APC members such as late Chief
Christopher Adube and his 5 children and driver would not
have been murdered in one fell swoop by PDP agents in ONELGA in
just one evening leaving the young son of Chief Adube
consigned to the wheel chair to date. Hon. Monday
Eleanya, Mr. Frankline Obi, his wife and son killed and beheaded;
shooting to death of Mr. Ipalibo Black-Duke in Akuku-Toru,
subsequent killings and beheadings of APC members in ONELGA; the
gruesome killing of Dr Vincent Eeebee in Yeghe among several others
too numerous to mention here would most probably have been
avoided.

3. We are satisfied that the 2019 general elections is a
clear departure from the orgy of violence and killings that
characterised the 2015 elections. However, we send our heartfelt
sympathy to the families of the slain INEC ad-hoc staff, Mrs
Ibisaki Amachree, who died under curious circumstances while
serving his fatherland during the Presidential and National
Assembly elections. We also send our profound condolences to the
families of the lieutenant of the Nigerian Army and other officers
and men who were targeted and killed or injured by criminals in the
state. We pray that God grant their souls eternal rest while giving
their family members the fortitude to bear their losses.

4. We must establish our disapproval of the tendencies by a
section of stakeholders in the polity especially some supposed
local and international observers who appear not to appreciate the
daunting and onerous task the security agencies are undertaking to
ensure that Rivers people were able to come out and vote safely and
their vote counted. This is the most unkind way to encourage or pay
back those who have and are still risking their lives for the rest
of us. We have attached herewith some photos of hospitalised army
officers from attacks unleashed on them by agents of PDP while on
duty during the elections. Perhaps it is pertinent to remind
everyone that the Nigerian Supreme Court described Rivers State as
a THEATRE OF WAR during the 2015 elections.

5. We very well recognise that the governor of Rivers State
has successfully extended his penchant to bribe every soul under
the sun to include observers of elections and other stakeholders in
the polity with a view to unleashing highly mendacious blackmail on
our hardworking security agents and the intention is to get them
out of the way for him to kill his way to power the second time.
This is very unfortunate!

6. We call on Rivers people and Nigerians not to be
hoodwinked into believing that Nigerian security agencies
interfered in the electoral process in Rivers State. That is only a
clever narrative being planted in the media to particularly
blackmail the military and the federal government into pulling out
security agents from the state and returning it to the killing
field many of us witnessed before, during and after the 2015
elections till date. Suffice to say that Rivers State has ever
since 2015 become Nigeria’s headquarters of violence.

7. With regard to the governorship election in Rivers State,
we have observed with keen interest the macabre dance between Gov.
Wike and INEC in Rivers State to upturn the popular will of the
people expressed last Saturday and wish to call on the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) to halt its macabre dance with
Gov. Wike through its Rivers REC, Obo Effanga who plotted and
engaged PDP card-carrying members as LGA Collation Officers just to
skew the elections in favour of Gov. Wike and the PDP. It befuddles
the mind how a self-confessed hater of President Buhari and his
Change Agenda (Obo Effanga) will possibly serve as a REC in Rivers
State and give everyone a fair chance. We call on the INEC
Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu to redeploy Mr. Effanga from Rivers
State without further delay in order to avoid possible crisis that
may follow the organised crime being executed by Gov. Wike and Obo
Effanga aimed at altering the result of the 2019 governorship polls
in Rivers State.

8. From yesterday and throughout last night to this moment,
Gov. Nyesom Wike, some PDP leaders, Obo Effanga and some INEC staff
have been re-writing unit results, an action we believe must have
been initiated on the advice of INEC insiders. The exercise which
is taking place in the Banquet Hall of Government House Port
Harcourt is still ongoing as I write.

Chris Finebone
State APC Publicity Secretary
12/3/2019

Kano PDP Candidate Urges Voter to Prepare for Re-Run
Election

Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf of People’s Democratic Party has assured
his teaming supporters of emerging victorious in the forthcoming
Gubernatorial bye election in Kano declared by the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The election was declared inconclusive due massive rigging
ochestrated by the ruling All Progressive Congress that resulted in
over voting and eventual cancellation of many polling units.

Kano people has seen glaringly, how the enemies of democracy who
are high ranking officials of the state Government including
serving deputy Governor, Nasiru Gawuna, Commissioner Murtala Garo
and Nassaraw Local Government Chairman Lamin Sani Kawaji vandalized
an election collation centre with a sole aim of truncating the
declaration process to deny PDP’s victory.

We have been reliably gathered that over five hundred ballot
papers were printed by Kano State Printing Press and syndicated to
various polling units across the state, part of which over ten
cartons of them were confiscated by the police.

It is our prayer that all election offenders would be charged to
courts at the earliest best time to serve as a deterrence for all
anti democracy.

We call on all supporters to remain calm, we are known to be
peace lovers and so we shall remain, as we are very sure of victory
during the rerun.

Our supporters should not forget that PDP is already leading in
the last count of the election and interestingly, the bye election
would take place in the strongest areas of our party.

We urge everyone to keep hope alive on our guest to rescue Kano
from the hands of corrupt leaders and agents of distraction.

People in the affected areas should come out en mass to cast
their votes in favour of PDP, We will Insha Allah emerge victorious
after the rerun to restore the lost glory of Kano.

Signed
Sanusi Bature Dawakin-Tofa the Spokesperson to PDP Gubernatorial
Candidate for Kano State 2019 Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf