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Tag: House of Assembly elections

  • Court dismisses AAC’s suit against Rivers election

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit by the African Action Congress (AAC) and one other, querying the propriety of handling of the Governorship and House of Assembly elections in Rivers State, particularly as it relates to the announcement of results by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    Justice Inyang Ekwo yesterday said the since the case was about an election that had been held, it was appropriate for the plaintiffs to take their case before an election tribunal.

    The suit has AAC, Biokpomabo Festus Awara and Pastor Ben-Gurion John Peter as plaintiffs, with INEC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as defendants.

    The plaintiffs said INEC had earlier admitted that the election was marred by violence which compromised its credibility, and so it suspended the election.

    Red also: Rivers Polls: Wike, AAC’s Awara clash at stakeholders meeting

    They added that without calling for a fresh election, INEC announced that it was set to continue with the election from March 20.

    The plaintiffs prayed the court for, among others, an order cancelling the already held Governorship and House of Assembly elections, and an order directing the conduct of fresh elections.

    Justice Ekwo said the reliefs sought by the plaintiff’s, which include prayers for the cancellation of an already-held election and the stoppage of further collation of results of the election, are post-election in nature.

    He said such prayers, on which the electoral tribunal has exclusive jurisdiction, could not be entertained by the regular courts.

    Justice Ekwo said his court has no jurisdiction to grant any of the prayers contained in the plaintiffs’ originating process.

    According to him, the court has earlier held in a similar case, that once an election has been held, the Federal High Court no longer has jurisdiction to entertain and determine any litigation touching on such election.

    Justice Ekwo said the case by the AAC and others was an attempt to litigate election issues in disguise.

    According to him, hearing the case will amount to an attempt by the court to constitute itself into an election tribunal, “a capability it does not have constitutionally”.

    He said: “I find that issues in this case are post-election in nature and do not belong to the realm of this court. Therefore, the preliminary objection of the second defendant succeeds and accordingly, I declare jurisdiction.

    “Now, it is the law that where the preliminary objection succeeds, there is no need to go further to consider arguments in support of other issues or issues for determination.

    “So, at this point, I make an order dismissing this case for want of jurisdiction.”

  • APC, PDP disagree on INEC’s new timelines for Rivers

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have disagreed over the new timelines by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Rivers State Governorship and House of Assembly elections.

    Rivers APC, through its Publicity Secretary, Chris Finebone, on Thursday in Port Harcourt, declared INEC’s announcement was suspect and received with mixed feelings, alleging the electoral commission had not shown good faith.

    But Rivers chairman of PDP, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Jerry Needam, however, said members of the party received the INEC’s news with optimism.

    Rivers APC said: “As a major stakeholder in the Rivers State political space, APC received with mixed feelings, INEC’s timeline for concluding the governorship and House of Assembly elections that started on March 9.

    “INEC has not shown sufficient good faith in the way it brought the collation to an abrupt stop (on March 10), without cogent, verifiable and convincing reasons.

    “The supposed umpire (INEC) went ahead to announce that collation for 17 local government areas (out of 23 LGAs in Rivers) had been concluded, as against the records provided by our situation room. And to make matters worse, INEC refused, failed or neglected to name the said 17 LGAs where it claimed collation had been concluded.

    “INEC curiously announced that it had dropped four LGAs’ collation officers confirmed to be PDP card-carrying members, without the umpire clearing the air about the status of the LGAs’ results the four ad hoc personnel supposedly collated.”

    The main opposition APC, which backed the African Action Congress (AAC), since court order did not allow it to present candidates for the elections, also wondered why the four indicted collation officers of INEC would be unfit for the job, while the collations they conducted were acceptable.

    APC in Rivers said: “Why is INEC jittery to name the 17 LGAs, if not for the simple reason that some underhand dealings might have taken place, for which it is covering up?

    “With the violation of the collation process by Governor Nyesom Wike when he stormed the Obio/Akpor LGA Collation Centre (at the council’s secretariat in Rumuodomaya, Port Harcourt in the night of March 9), where his Chief Security Officer (CSO) and security detail that shot an army captain and other soldiers in the process, why does it seem that INEC’s body language is suggesting that Obio/Akpor LGA’s collation has been completed?

    “To the APC, INEC is up to some mischief, clearly pointing to a clear determination to rig the overall results of the March 9 elections in favour of Wike and the PDP. The signs are visible enough to the blind and loud enough to the deaf. All the shenanigans so far exhibited by INEC only go to confirm that fear.”

    But the PDP chair said: “Even though we frown at the length of the timeline issued by INEC for the collation, declaration and conclusion of the election process in Rivers State, we received the news with optimism.

    “Rivers State PDP is waiting patiently for the process to be concluded, because the people of Rivers State overwhelmingly voted for our party.

    “We urge Rivers people to remain calm, as the mandate they freely gave to Governor Wike and the PDP on March 9 will be affirmed at the end of the collation process.

    “Victory for the PDP will come at the end of the exercise. Rivers State is PDP. The people massively voted for the PDP, as all the figures indicate.”

  • Police arrest 18 suspects over alleged electoral offences in Oyo

    The Oyo State Police Command said no fewer than 18 suspects had been arrested across the state for various offences during Saturday’s Governorship and House of Assembly elections.

    Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, SP Olugbenga Fadeyi, disclosed this on Wednesday in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan.

    Fadeyi said the offences committed by the suspects ranged from attempt to snatch ballot boxes and ballot papers to violence.

    Read also: Scores feared dead, many injured in Onitsha ghastly accident

    He said that seven assorted guns and 30 live cartridges and other dangerous weapons were recovered from some of the suspects.

    He said that the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) at Iyaganku, was currently carrying out preliminary investigations on the suspects.

    Fadeyi said that the suspects would be transferred to Abuja for further investigation after completion of initial checks at the state level. (NAN)

  • Delta APC rejects governorship/House of Assembly election results

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta state has called for the cancellation of last Saturday’s governorship and House of Assembly elections in the state.

    APC’s position was made known at a press briefing addressed by the chairman of the Delta state chapter of the party, Prophet Jones Erie, on Monday evening.

    Erue accused security agents who were deployed on election duties in different parts of the state, as well as officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of conniving with agents of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to massively rig the election in favour of the PDP.

    “You all witnessed an electoral process where soldiers aided PDP thugs to hijack ballot boxes and materials in collaboration with the presiding officers and thumb printed them for the PDP.

    “Our people were not allowed to enter any collation centre, our agents were treated as enemies of the electoral process. The whole place was militarised against APC and results were changed at will.

    “For example, at Emede Ward 5 unit 2, soldiers aided the destruction of that unit. At about 10:00am, ballot boxes and ballot papers were carted away, we managed to complete the election and at the end, APC had 4323 votes, 1134 votes for PDP House of Assembly.

    “Surprisingly, the same votes were counted and they recorded 2,712 votes for the governorship for the APC and 2,702 votes for PDP. If this is the discrepancy in my own ward, it is enough prove to show that the same thing took place across the state.

    “Our members were brutalised, presiding officers collaborated with PDP to undo us. In Warri South and Warri South-West, most of the materials did not get to their units”, Erue alleged.

    Erue said the party would approach the Election Petition Tribunal should the electoral umpire refuse to cancel the election.

    However, when reached for a response, the spokesman of the 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, Colonel Aminu Iliyasu, said the allegations by the parties against security agencies borne out of the wrong perception of what the agencies stand for.

    “People see security agencies as instruments of the state that can be used by the ruling party. The opposition parties will bash on the security agency, the ruling party will also bash on the security. The election is over, if he is not satisfied, he should go the Election Petition Tribunal,” Iliyasu said.

  • You are vainglorious dreamer, APC replies APM

    The Ogun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has reacted to the rejection of results of the governorship and state House of Assembly elections in the state by the Allied People’s Movement (APM).

    APC advised APM, its governorship candidate and principal to approach the court of law if they have issues with the results, warning that if they failed to heed the advice, it might be tempted to drag the complaining parties for manifest malpractices and vote buying allegedly perpetrated by them.

    In a statement by the Publicity Secretary of APC Caretaker Committee in the state, Com. Tunde Oladunjoye, he described APM, the gubernatorial candidate and his principal as “sore losers.”

    Oladunjoye wondered how a party that was hurriedly birthed in January 2019 expects to win an expect it to win the governorship election two months later, dismissing them as “vainglorious dreamers.”

    He stated: “I think it was Shakespeare that wrote that ‘Cowards die many times before their deaths, The valiant never taste of death but once.’

    “Akinlade and his principal are sore losers. What they attempted negates historical antecedents in politics.

    “They are vainglorious dreamers. Or how can you form a party in January 2019 and expect to win the governorship election in a state like Ogun by March 2019?

    “We urged them to go to court, because even if they don’t, we shall, on our own, go to court for manifest malpractices which they perpetrated during the election. In Ewekoro, it was outright vote buying.

    “In Obafemi Owode, One of their candidates was arrested for voters inducement, in Ado Odo Ota, a top serving officer of the state government was arrested with already thumb-printed ballot papers.”

  • Kano: Foreign observers reject fake Guber election result

    An African election observers group, Good For Good Monitors (G4GM), that observed the Kano State gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections has deplored the actions of some politicians making round with fake results of the just concluded elections in the state.

    The group hailed Kano people for conducting peaceful elections, but expressed worries that, some “desperate and power mongers” are circulating fake and unofficial results of the just concluded poll. Allocating over 30 local governments to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    It said, “Collation of results even at the wards level is not concluded. How then can those desperate politicians be circulating something that is not even there in the official papers?  What this particular opposition party is doing negates the provision of the just signed Peace Accord by the gubernatorial candidates in the state. That all avenues for the promotion of peace and harmony would be observed, before, during and after elections.”

    According to the group what is being circulated is totally different from what election observers at different levels have, adding that, “…what is in our hands, though, not officially announced by the election umpire Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), from different stages, is not near the fake news being circulated by some people in the state.”

    The statement calls on Kano people to be calm and wait for the official results from INEC.

  • Voter apathy characterises Saturday’s polls in Edo

    The Governorship and House of Assembly elections in Edo on Saturday recorded low voter turnout, in spite of the early distribution of election materials across the state.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondents, who monitored the exercise reports that there was widespread voter apathy in the areas visited.

    Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and election materials were conveyed to the polling units early in the morning.

    Some of the residents, who spoke on the low turnout of voters, attributed it to the outcome of the Feb. 23 polls in the area.

    Mr Ehi Peters, a political analyst, told NAN that the apathy in most of the polling centres might not be unconnected with the results of the Presidential and National assembly elections.

    Peters said: “Our people were disappointed with the outcome of the polls, coupled with the disappointing comments by some chieftains of the major political parties in the area.

    “Many of them had boasted that the people’s votes in the field will not decide the final result.

    “In such a situation, the people woukd become disillusioned and uninterested in the entire process, like what is happening right now.”

    NAN reports that newspaper and food vendors were seen in strategic areas of Benin city, displaying their wares and soliciting patronage.

    A food vendor, Mrs Margret Yakubu, said that voter turnout was not encouraging, compared to the last elections.

    “I am just scared because I prepared a lot of food for prospective voters, who might be hungry, while waiting to cast their vote.

    Read also: PDP will record landslide victory in A’Ibom – Senator elect

    “But if the low turnout doesn’t change, I’m going to end up incurring a huge loss.

    “My prayer is that voters would come out en masse before the end of voting today, if not, today’s sales will not be anything to write home about.

    A drink seller, Mrs Agnes Ogedegbe, described the low turnout of voters as a big disappointement “because I had envisaged I would make good profit.”

    Frank Okechukwu, who sells egg roll, however, said that some of the voters might have gone to their farms because of the previous day’s rain.

    “You know our people are predominantly farmers. They may have gone to their farms to take advantage of yesterday’s rain to cultivate crops,’’ Okechukwu said.

    NAN reports that 176 candidates from 23 political parties participated in the House of Assembly election in Edo.

    It was learnt that 1.7 million voters collected their Permanent Voter Cards.

    The major political parties jostling for the 24 constituency seats, incuded the All Progressives Party, Peoples Democratic Party, Labour Party, Action Democratic Party and Advance Congress of Democrats.

    Others were Alliance for Democracy, Alliance for New Nigeria and All Democratic Peoples Movement, among others. (NAN)

  • …as cleric urges Nigerians to shun violence

    Ahead of governorship and states House of Assembly elections, a cleric, Alhaji Tomasi Akingbade has urged Nigerians to refrain from violence and acts capable of truncating democratic process of the country.

    The Cleric gave the advice in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, in a sermon at a special prayer for peaceful conduct of the governorship and House of Assembly elections across the country.

    Akingbade admonished Nigerians to collectively work together toward ensuring violence-free elections irrespective of ethnic or religious affiliations, saying that no meaningful development could be attained in an atmosphere of chaos and acrimony in any part of the country.

    ýHe advised politicians to abide by the rules and regulations governing the conduct of elections instead of promoting disputes and disorders, noting that the special prayer is targeted at the on-going elections in the country.

    “We want this governorship and house of assembly elections to be a violent-free and fair, in which the most righteous and God-fearing candidates would emerge to represent the interest of the people not themselves,” Imam Akingbade said.

    He noted that the council of Imams and Alfas has always played a pivotal role of organising special prayers both congregationally and individually for the peaceful co-existence of the people in the society and the government, particularly during electioneering period and after elections, adding that religion as an index of culture and civilisation should have a role to play in redressing seemingly intractable problems.

    He faulted the saying that religion and politics should not be good bedfellows in Nigeria. According to him, “Some corrupt Nigerian politicians maintain this position, unfortunately, they have used religion to achieve their goals when it suits them and then turn to argue that religion should not be brought into politics.”

  • Polls: Fear of fresh violence grips Rivers residents

    Residents of the 23 local government areas in Rivers State are gripped by fear of another round of violence during today’s governorship and House of Assembly elections. And the residents, particularly those at the ‘war zones’ during the February 23 presidential and National Assembly elections, have every reason to panic, considering the avoidable loss of lives and property they had experienced in previous elections.

    Addressing reporters in Abuja on March 5, the Minister of Transportation and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, described as deadly the ambition of his former Chief of Staff and now Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to continue in office.

    Amaechi, a former governor of Rivers State and leader of APC in the state and the Southsouth zone, as well as the Director-General of Buhari/Osinbajo Re-election Campaign Organisation, believes that his successor (Wike) is desperate to remain in office at all costs.

    Wike, an ex-Minister of State for Education, however, alleged that his former benefactor (Amaechi), who recommended him in 2011 to the then President Goodluck Jonathan for ministerial appointment, should be blamed for the death and injury of many innocent persons during the February 23 presidential and National Assembly elections in the state, no matter the amount of crocodile tears he sheds, describing his former boss as a purveyor of violence.

    On March 6, Amaechi, while addressing members of APC and supporters of the party in Eleme, Eleme Local Government Area (LGA), asked them and other people in the state to massively vote for the governorship candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Awara Biokpomabo, an engineer and a riverine man from Kula-Kalabari in Akuku-Toru LGA of the state, in today’s governorship election.

    The transportation minister noted that although the main opposition APC in Rivers was still in court over the non-inclusion of the party’s governorship standard bearer, Pastor Tonye Cole, an indigene of Abonnema-Kalabari in Akuku-Toru LGA, on the ballot, he stressed that it was pertinent to adopt the candidate of AAC, considering the closeness of the governorship and House of Assembly elections.

    He said: “In the morning of March 6, the leadership of the party met and agreed that we would work with a party called African Action Congress while we are still in court to reclaim our mandate.

    “So, on Saturday (today), we will vote for AAC. You must go home and vote for AAC. There should be no excuse not to vote, because there will be security for everybody. You must prepare and make sure you win the governorship election.”

    Amaechi also assured that the moment the governorship election was won by AAC’s candidate today and he is inaugurated on May 29, 2019, by June this year, there would be local government chairmanship and councillorship elections.

    Wike, however, stated that he and other members of PDP in Rivers State were not worried over APC members’ backing the governorship candidate of AAC, boasting that he would record a landslide victory in view of his developmental projects and his empowerment of the people in the 23 LGAs of the state.

     

    Echoes of violence

    Trouble had started in the state two days to the February 23 presidential and National Assembly elections, when the governor raised the alarm that the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, Maj.-Gen. Jamil Sarham, was planning to assassinate him and also help the leaders of APC in the state to rig the polls.

    The GOC, however, described Wike, a lawyer, as a liar and blackmailer, insisting that the allegations were senseless and childish.

    On February 23, a chieftain of APC, Chief Mowan Etete, a two-term Chairman of Andoni LGA, the local government area of the National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, was shot dead by political thugs around 9 a.m. in his house in Asarama, Andoni LGA, along with his elder brother. Etete, also a former Vice-Chairman of PDP in Rivers State and former Special Adviser to Wike on Political Matters, defected to the APC last October. The APC chieftain and his elder brother were killed after the gunmen scaled the fence of Etete’s compound and rained bullets on them at close range while they were holding a meeting with some people, some of whom were also injured. The invaders escaped without taking any item from the house. Etete had narrowly escaped assassination a few hours before the February 16 presidential and National Assembly elections, which were postponed till February 23.

    The Public Relations Officer (PRO), Rivers State Police Command, Nnamdi Omoni, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said the personnel of the command were on the trail of the killers of Etete and his elder brother, expressing optimism that they would soon be arrested and prosecuted to serve as deterrence to other criminals.

    The presidential and National Assembly elections in Rivers State were also marred by sporadic gunshots across the 23 LGAs in the state. There were heavy gunshots in Ubima, Ikwerre LGA, the hometown of Amaechi and another former Rivers governor, Sir Celestine Omehia (of PDP), with voters, residents, journalists and other people scampering to safety. Okrika, the headquarters of Okrika LGA, the hometown of a former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, and Bonny Island also witnessed gunshots, making it impossible for the Electoral Officer in Bonny LGA, Eze Ukachukwu, to distribute voting materials.

    There were non-stop gunshots in Abonnema-Kalabari, the headquarters of Akuku-Toru LGA of Rivers State, the hometown of governorship candidate of APC, Pastor Tonye Cole, and his counterpart in Accord Party, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs. The heavy shootings in Abonnema started in the night of February 22 and continued through out February 23, with the intention of scaring away the electorate and personnel of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    An ally of Wike, Emma Okah, a lawyer, who is the Director of Information and Communications of Rivers PDP Campaign Council and doubles as the state’s Commissioner for Information and Communications, claimed that 15 PDP members were shot dead by soldiers in Abonnema.

    INEC later decided to reschedule the Akuku-Toru and Bonny LGAs’ elections till March 9.

    While reacting to the violence in Abonnema, the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sagir Musa, disclosed that gallant troops of the Nigerian Army fought their way through the siege and, in the process, killed six of the assailants but lost a Lieutenant in the encounter.

    Musa said: “Information reaching the headquarters of the Nigerian Army revealed that troops of 6 Division on a legitimate duty of protecting lives and property of law-abiding citizens and ensuring a conducive environment for peaceful conduct of 2019 general elections in Abonnema, Akuku-Toru LGA, Rivers State, were attacked by some hoodlums.

    “The pre-planned attack occurred between Charles and Bob-Manuel’s compounds in Abonnema town at about 1 pm on 23rd February, 2019.

    “The attackers barricaded a major road into the town and laid an ambush in the adjoining built- up areas, from where they opened fire on our unsuspecting troops when they attempted to remove the barricade. Preliminary investigation indicated that one Rowland Sekibo the Chairman Akuku-Toru LGA, Omodo the CSO Akuku-Toru LGA and Kenneth of Kula currently at large (all of PDP), were the masterminds of the unexpected/unprovoked attack.”

    The army spokesman also stated that the perpetrators of the ambush would be made to face the full wrath of the law.

    Responding at a news briefing in Government House, Port Harcourt, Wike accused Amaechi, the GOC 6 division and Commander of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Rivers State, Akin Fakorede, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), of being responsible for the February 23 violence; an allegation they denied outright.

    Wike said: “All our fears and concerns for the peaceful conduct of the general elections in Rivers State were completely vindicated as the army literarily took over the conduct of the general elections and aided armed thugs of the APC to prevent distribution of election materials, disrupt voting, snatch election materials and chase away PDP agents from collation centres across the state.

    “In Abonnema, a criminal declared wanted by the state, christened Don Pedro, led a band of APC armed thugs to the Local Govern ment’s Registration Area Centre (RAC) to forcibly stop the distribution of election materials to the various wards and units of Akuku-Toru LGA.

    ” The people of the community (Abonnema) resisted and insisted on having the opportunity to exercise their rights to vote for the party and candidates of their choice.

    “However, instead of disarming and arresting the APC armed thugs to prevent the general elections from being scuttled, the soldiers intervened on the side of APC militia, and in the ensuing confusion and confrontation, killed 15 innocent persons and wounded several others.

    “The soldiers are ravaging the entire Abonnema community and killing young men found in their homes.”

    On February 26, the GOC, 6 division, paraded Wike’s Commissioner for Urban Development and Physical Planning, Dr. Reason Onya, and the representative of Ahoada West constituency in Rivers House of Assembly, Nwanaka Okpokiri, also of PDP, for rigging February 23 elections in the state.

    The Camp Commandant of Government House, Port Harcourt, Oyoku Ifelle, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP); Major Akpoge Peter Ubah of 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt and 31 others, including policemen, thugs and ad hoc staff of INEC, including two women, were also paraded on February 26.

    The GOC disclosed that a lot of manoeuvres by political actors were witnessed in the division’s Area of Responsibility (AOR), covering Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers states, during the February 23 polls.

    Maj.-Gen. Sarham said: “Equally of grave concern is the daring attempt by the Governor of Rivers State to compromise security agencies, particularly troops of 6 Division, with hefty financial inducements to help him in his illegitimate act of thwarting a free and fair electoral process to his favour, while accusing the Nigerian Army and its command hierarchy of bias daily.

    “Apparently, Governor Wike must have underestimated the Nigerian Army’s commitment to being professionally responsive in the discharge of our constitutional roles.

    “The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai, has over time reiterated and demonstrated the Nigerian Army’s resolve to being apolitical, neutral and unbiased. He (COAS) has also left no one in doubt of our total and absolute loyalty to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the President/Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (President Muhammadu Buhari).

    “No amount of cheap blackmail and unsubstantiated allegations will make us bulge. While we do not intend to take issues with anyone, however, it has become expedient to bring to the notice of the general public the actual reasons behind Governor Wike’s attrition against the Nigerian Army and its leadership, with the hope that he will finally sheathe his sword and publicly apologise to the Nigerian Army, as we present the shocking discoveries.”

    All the 35 suspects were handed over to the Deputy Commissioner in charge of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of Rivers Police Command, Ahmed Kontagora, who represented Rivers Commissioner of Police, Usman Belel.

     

    Tales of electoral fraud

    On March 1, at 6 Division, a youth corps member, Tuatimi James Powell, revealed how leaders of PDP in Rivers State sent thugs who forced him and 10 other colleagues (corps members) at gunpoint to Greenside Hotel in Bodo-Ogoni, Gokana LGA of Rivers to rig the February 23 presidential and National Assembly elections.

    Powell, who was a Presiding Officer (PO) of INEC, said he and other youth corps members had horrifying experiences in the hands of the PDP thugs, who bundled all of them into a waiting bus amid sporadic gunshots and moved them to the hotel while still shooting.

    The youth corps member revealed that on getting to the hotel, the PDP leaders and their thugs forced them, at gunpoint, to fill fictitious results on INEC’s result sheets forcibly taken from him and other corps members, while also forcing them to sign the documents.

    Corroborating Powell, an Assistant Presiding Officer (APO) of INEC, Michael Kponeh, disclosed that the ad hoc staff and other officials of INEC were held hostage by the PDP thugs in Bodo-Ogoni in Gokana LGA and made to do their bidding at gunpoint.

    The 11 corps members were paraded along with 42 other suspects, totalling 53, by the GOC 6 Division, who was represented by the Garrison Commander of 6 Division Garrison, Brig.-Gen. Adeola Kalejaiye, and assisted by 6 Division’s Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Aminu Iliyasu.

    Maj.-Gen. Sarham said: “Items recovered from the hotel were 34 ballot boxes loaded with ballot papers, three card readers, ten bags containing electoral materials and a Toyota Hiace bus with registration number: Lagos: EQ 171 KRD.”

    The GOC also disclosed that 13 political thugs were arrested in Harris Town, Degema LGA, Rivers State on February 21, ahead of February 23 elections.

    Also paraded on March 1 was Gogo Meshack of Asarama in Andoni LGA of Rivers State, who was arrested with 142 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and other electoral materials by troops of 6 Division, Nigerian Army on February 24, on his way from Asarama to Port Harcourt.

    All the 53 suspects were handed over to Victor Onyeugo, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Rivers Police Command, with Onyeugo assuring that personnel of Rivers State police command would ensure further investigation of the suspects and prosecution of the indicted ones.

    On March 5, the GOC again paraded 14 more suspects who were arrested for violence in Akuku-Toru and Obio/Akpor LGAs during the February 23 presidential and National Assembly elections, with the suspects received by Onyeugo on behalf of the state’s police command. Exactly a week after the Lieutenant was killed in Abonnema, two more soldiers, who were part of the troops stationed to maintain peace in the Kalabari City (Abonnema) were gunned down by hoodlums at the Obonoma-Abonnema Junction, with the criminals carting away the soldiers’ rifles.

    The Coordinator of APC’s Presidential Campaign Council in Rivers State, Pastor Tonye Cole, accused Wike of being hell-bent on clinging to power at any cost, even taking human lives. He also assured that the Federal Government would seek justice for the families of persons who were killed on February 23 across the 23 LGAs, no matter how long it would take.

    Cole, who is also the Rivers governorship candidate of APC, at a news conference in Port Harcourt, expressed condolences to the families who lost loved ones in the Niger Delta state during the presidential and National Assembly polls.

    He said: “Over the past few days, Rivers State has once again been in the headlines globally for all the wrong reasons. It has been my personal plea and mantra, as well as that of the APC that the violence meted out to our members and citizens of the state in 2015, and immediately thereafter, has no place in any modern society, especially one that desperately needs to grow economically and develop for the betterment of its people. We have called for peace and peaceful elections at every stage.

    “I have been shocked and saddened by statements and comments attributed to Wike that Prof. Charles Dokubo-Quakers (Coordinator of Presidential Amnesty Programme/Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Niger Delta Affairs), Prince Tonye Princewill (APC chieftain) and I are responsible for the carnage and deaths in Abonnema on February 23. These malicious and unfounded allegations are being investigated and our lawyers will advise on possible libel suits to take against those who have peddled these wicked falsehoods.

    “For anyone willing to expose the truth, the task is relatively easy and the motive particularly clear. Nigerians in their vast numbers were shocked to learn of militant kingpins that were rewarded for their roles in the 2015 elections with positions in the Rivers State House of Assembly, Local Government Councils and State Government appointments by the Rivers State Government. This is common knowledge and the names of these individuals are known to many.

    “In Akuku-Toru LGA in particular, Hon. Rowland Sekibo, currently at large, is the Chairman of the LGA, and under his watch, Abonnema was brazenly under the control of several deadly cult groups. Like in several LGAs across the state and operating under the cover of the Local Government Authority, militarised cult groups have held Akuku- Toru LGA hostage over the past few years. And in the run-up to these elections (presidential and National Assembly), intelligence reaching us was that strict directives had been issued to the Chairman (of Akuku-Toru LGA) not to permit APC to deliver the local government of its gubernatorial candidate (Cole) and in particular, his polling unit and Ward 12.”

    Cole, a co-founder of Sahara Group and billionaire businessman, declared that the people of Rivers State were sick and tired of Wike’s government which he said had been promoting fear and intimidation, extolling  violence as a virtue and would only come around during election times to make promises it had no intention of keeping, noting that Rivers people were now awake and insisted that APC candidates in the state would always emerge victorious in free, fair, peaceful and credible elections.

    The governorship candidate of Accord Party in Rivers, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, also alleged that “jittery” Wike was desperate to be sole governorship candidate in the state, in view of his poor performance and failure to deliver real dividends of democracy to the people in the state.  The oil magnate (Lulu-Briggs), who until September 28, 2018, was a governorship aspirant on the platform of APC, also accused Rivers governor of using primitive tactics, especially by sponsoring Mr. Precious Baridoo, who is claiming to be Accord Party’s governorship candidate in the state, and trying to cause confusion in Accord Party by sponsoring litigation at Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, presided over by Justice Emmanuel Obile, as he earlier did in APC, where he sponsored many court cases against Cole.

    Wike, through Rivers Commissioner for Information and Communications, Emma Okah, who doubles as the Director of Information and Communications of Rivers PDP Campaign Council, however, denied causing confusion in Accord Party, APC and other political parties, claiming that his “impressive” performance across Rivers’ 23 LGAs would earn him re-election.

    The House of Representatives’ candidate of the APC for Okrika/Ogu-Bolo constituency of Rivers state, Mrs. Maureen Tamuno, assured that in spite of the challenges and court cases, members of the party in Rivers were preparing for the March 9 governorship and House of Assembly elections.

    She hinted that ahead of March 9 polls, there would be the need for realignment, to be directed by the leader of APC in Rivers and Southsouth zone (Amaechi).

    Tamuno, a former Chairman of Ogu/Bolo Local Government Council, stated these on March 3 at a thanksgiving service at St. Martin’s Anglican Church, Ogu, the headquarters of Ogu/Bolo LGA of Rivers, to appreciate God on the victory of President Buhari.

    She said: “We did our best and our contributions brought about the victory for President Buhari. We are celebrating and rejoicing. We know that President Buhari will not forget the people of Okrika/Ogu-Bolo federal constituency who have stood strong for him, despite all the problems that we are facing.”

    Tamuno assured that APC members in Rivers would exercise their franchise on March 9.

    Rivers governor, however, asked APC’s leaders and members in Rivers to accept the reality that their party would still not be on the ballot for today’s elections in the state.

    Wike said: “Truth be told, the Supreme Court has spoken. INEC has confirmed. It is the will of God and there is nothing anybody can do to return the APC to the ballot for the 2019 general elections in Rivers State.

    “But this, I believe, is not the end of life for the APC in Rivers State. There is always another day and as political leaders, we must have the courage to accept the reality, know when to stop fighting for nothing and tell our followers the simple truth, even if it may sound bitter.

    “I would therefore advice my brothers in the

  • Imo APC Chairman accuses INEC of disobeying court order

    Few hours before the March 9, 2019 Governorship/House of Assembly Elections, the Chairman of the State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Daniel Nwafor, has accused the Imo State Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Gross disobedience of court order and treatment of the high court with levity and disdain.

    In a letter dated March 7, 2019 and addressed to the Head of Department (HoD) Election & Party Monitoring, INEC, Owerri, Barrister V. O Nwokeabia, Nwafor alleged that despite the judgment and order of a Federal High Court, Abuja, in suit no:  FCT/HC/BW/CV/103/2018, the state INEC, against all known democratic principles, has been treating the court and its judgment with levity.

    In the letter, which was made available to The Nation on Friday, Nwafor said the Federal High Court Abuja had granted his application seeking, among others, that the Imo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Prof. Francis Chukwuemeka Ezeonu and all the officers in that office recognize him (Nwafor) as the chairman of APC in Imo Sate.

    He, however, said “Despite the rule of law slogan of your commission, your office has consistently insulted the court and its judgment and orders…..this is shocking coming from a lawyer that the reason for disobeying orders of court and treating the court with levity is that someone is directing you to do so. This is wrong and unacceptable.”

    Nwafor reminded the state INEC that Nigeria is governed by laws and “All of us must obey the laws of the land including any decision made by the courts until set aside. He said since the state INEC HoD now claims to be bigger than the court and the laws of the land, “I am compelled to formally write a petition to the disciplinary committee of the body of lawyers to call you to order while I also continue with the contempt matter.”

    Recall that the state chapter of the APC had filed a contempt suit against the National Chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. The contempt suit was filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja, with Nwafor insisting that Oshiomhole’s action in dissolving his executive was contemptuous because there was an existing court judgment barring the APC National Chairman from doing so.

    According to him, Oshiomhole had no power to dissolve a duly elected executive body headed by him (Nwafor) and appointing a Caretaker Committee led by Chief Marcellinus Nlemigbo. He described the caretaker committee chairman and his members as “impostors.”