The Rivers State Collation Officer in the just-concluded presidential and National Assembly election, Prof. Charles Adias, has raised the alarm over continued threat to his life about a week after the announcement of election results.
Adias, who is the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University, Otuoke (FUO) in Bayelsa State, had, during the collation of results, told reporters in Port Harcourt, the state capital, of an adjournment due to threat to his life and family members.
The academic had alleged that some persons loyal to a political party were after his life, despite having nothing to do with the conduct of elections and computation of results.
He said those accusing him of rigging election in Rivers State were trending his picture and personal information on social media and calling on their members to deal with him.
In a statement yesterday, titled: My Stewardship, My Bond as state Collation Officer for the 2023 Presidential Election, Rivers State, the vice chancellor said though he was not unaware of the challenges of being a collation officer, he decided to weather the storm because of his conviction to the growth and development of the political process in the country.
Adias said: “On my appointment as State Collation Officer for the 2023 presidential election (SCOPE) in Rivers State, I had set out, as a call to duty on national assignment to fulfill an essential part of my community service as an academic and Vice Chancellor of a Federal university.
“Hence, I worked within the scope of my briefs, as statutorily demanded and as clearly enunciated in the Electoral Guidelines and other enabling instruments. By the nature of my assignment, as it is with every other job in this sphere, I knew it was going to be challenging, but I braved it, being assured that I would surmount whatever challenge by the grace of God.
“As statutorily designated, my job as the State Collation Officer for the Presidential Elections (SCOPE) in Rivers State and as expected of all Vice Chancellors of Federal universities who were also deployed to other states of the federation too, I received the report of collated and announced results from Local Government Area Council Collation Officers (EC8C).
“I collated the votes scored by each political party from Forms EC8C into Form EC8D and entered the votes scored in the spaces provided; added up the LGA collated results to obtain the state’s summary; cross-checked the totals and entries in Form EC8D with the Collation Support and Result Verification System (CSRVS) secretariat for computational accuracy; announced loudly the votes scored by each political party; signed, dated and stamped the Form EC8D and requested the polling agents to countersign; then, other formalities followed up the ladder to the final collation centre in Abuja.
“The above procedures were dutifully followed under public viewing and in the presence of all the officials, from the designated regular INEC workers, INEC ad hoc workers, party agents and officers, security personnel to local and foreign observers, and the press, with no adverse and untoward behaviours noted or recorded, all the way.
“Also, as explained above, my job, as it is with other 36 Federal universities vice chancellors, was simply to dutifully collate results that had been recorded at the units, wards and local government levels up to the state’s Collation Centre where all the scores were summed up in the presence of all concerned persons and groups, including but not limited to party agents.
“By this arrangement, it is quite impossible for a State Collation Officer for the presidential election to manipulate scores that had already been counted, recorded, confirmed, signed, and stamped by officers at the lower levels of collation (unit, ward, and local government area).
“Looking at the scope and modalities of my job as well as my neutrality as a vice chancellor, how could anyone have imagined to the extent of alleging that I was out to favour any candidate or political party in the presidential elections?”
The vice chancellor explained that he started receiving threatening phone calls and text messages, abusing and insulting him and his family on February 26 while he was on his way to Port Harcourt to report to duty.
Adias said he did not know that his photograph and phone number had been circulated on the social media, especially Facebook and Twitter.
The vice chancellor said his accusers alleged that he had been detailed to influence votes and scores for candidate(s) in the elections by manipulating the BVAS machines in Rivers State, among others.
He said on getting to Port Harcourt, he had to inform the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) about his experiences, which he roundly condemned and promised that his safety was assured and pledged that the commission would do something about it.
Narrating his ordeal further, Adias said after collating the results for three local government areas on February 26, he retired to his hotel room, saying he tried to rest to prepare for the following day but the threat calls and messages still continued.
He said: “I managed to bear it all till the following day when I set out to collate results for 18 more local government areas, making it 21 local government areas as at February 27, 2023. At the end of the hectic process of collation for that day, the results for Obio/Akpor and Degema local government areas were not ready.
“Considering all that had happened, the following day, on February 28, I decided to adjourn the collation of results and insisted on a press conference to let everyone know about the several threats to my life and as they may affect the collation exercise.
“Thereafter, the collation was adjourned, and I insisted that until INEC addressed the issues of misinformation, blackmail and defined the roles of SCOPE as distinct from that of other officers whose duty it is to receive results as collated at the units to the wards, all through to the local governments, I would not go on with the exercise.
“My request was granted and INEC had a press conference debunking all the misinformation and disinformation. Thereafter, the collation continued and the exercise was completed.
“Dear compatriots, ordinarily, I would have been silent about the situation since the Rivers State INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Johnson Alalibo Sinikiem, had, on February 28, 2023, issued a statement in this regard. But I still feel I owe our country men and women the duty of a thorough explanation of what happened, as narrated above, because my image is far more precious to me than anything else.
“Trust me: there is no iota of truth in the rumours that has been peddled. It is just a figment of the imagination of their bearers to what end I cannot really ascertain.”
“I want to urge everyone to discountenance all the misinformation and lies that have been peddled about me in relation to the conduct of 2023 presidential election in Rivers State. Let us be assured that my patriotic zeal for the growth and development of our dear country will not be dampened, no matter the seeming discouragements.”