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Tag: Rivers APC

  • Wike, Rivers APC in verbal war over tribunal ruling

    Embattled Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and the state’s chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have disagreed sharply on the nullified mandate and pro-Wike protests by various groups in Rivers.

    APC, through its Publicity Secretary, Chris Finebone, yesterday in Port Harcourt, alleged that the sacked Rivers governor had gone full blast against the judiciary by mobilising market women, traditional rulers and clerics, among others to protest.

    But, reacting, Wike, through his deputy, Ipalibo Harry-Banigo, vowed to protect the mandate given to him by Rivers people on April 11 this year and to ensure that the resources of the state were used to improve the living standard of the people.

    It will be recalled that the tribunals sacked Wike on Saturday and voided the victories of 20 PDP lawmakers of the Rivers House of Assembly, including the Speaker, the following Monday.

    On Tuesday, the tribunal also insisted that the relocation of the tribunal to Abuja was for security reason, while affirming the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which had earlier approved the decision of the tribunal to assume jurisdiction.

    In his reaction to the judgments, the Rivers State governor alleged judicial gang-up against him and the people of Rivers state.

    APC said: “The Rivers State chapter of the APC has received credible information that Nyesom Wike has begun to mobilise and incite different sections of Rivers people to protest against the judiciary, for handing out unfavourable judgments on his matters at the tribunals and Supreme Court.

    “Two top traditional rulers in Rivers State separately informed the APC that the embattled Rivers governor summoned them for a meeting today (yesterday), where they suspect that the governor may request and mobilise them to endorse protest documents against the judgments of the tribunal that annulled the so-called election of the governor and the decision of the Supreme Court that dismissed his appeal on jurisdiction of the tribunal.

    “As part of Wike’s plan to mobilise the people of the state against the judiciary, he doled out huge cash to a section of market women, who shamelessly went on a protest march yesterday (Thursday) in Port Harcourt, denouncing the Nigerian judiciary and threatening the peace of Rivers State.

    “The APC has been told that after the meeting and mobilisation of traditional rulers to protest in today’s meeting, the next group penciled down to be mobilised is the clergy in Rivers State. Wike believes that he can finance a section of the supposed men of God to protest and publish anti-judiciary articles and paid adverts in the media, extolling the embattled governor.

    However, Wike maintained that the people of Rivers state voted for him and all the candidates of the PDP, in view of their conviction that they possess the capacity to deliver quality service to them.

    He said: “Rivers People voted for us, because they believe that we will deliver the dividends of democracy to them and improve on the living standard of our people.

    “Time has passed when people came to Rivers State to take away our wealth. We are prepared to protect our resources for the betterment of our people.”

  • Rivers APC to security agents: Wike must not run away

    Rivers APC to security agents: Wike must not run away

    • Says it’s been vindicated by tribunal’s judgement

    The Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) said  the success of its candidate’s petition to the State Governorship Election Tribunal  is a vindication of  “our persistent claim that the election in Rivers State was a sham and that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) erred in declaring Wike governor.”

    The party in a statement in Port Harcourt by its chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, boasted that “there is no way under the heavens that Chief Wike can beat our candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, in a free and fair election.”

    He said that by the verdict, the tribunal has restored hope to “the downtrodden people of Rivers State who have borne the brunt of Wike’s illegal and visionless administration in the past five months.”

    He lamented  what he called the rise in kidnapping, robbery and organised crimes since the assumption of office by Wike, adding: “For the first time in the history of our dear state, a government without any vision or blueprint assumed office, thereby collapsing all the systems of governance.

    “On 22nd October, 2015, 19 students on the scholarship of the Rivers State Government through its agency, the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA) were forced to abandon their studies and return to Nigeria because the state government had not paid their fees and upkeep in the United Kingdom. Those in Canada and other locations are also expected to return soon for same reasons.

    “Earlier this week, the RSUST Chapter of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) went on a protest march and warning strike due to the mindless hiking of fees of the university’s primary and secondary demonstration schools by the clueless Wike administration.

    “Local Government Councils in the State have been unable to pay their staff salaries for August and September while some, such as Opobo/Nkoro, owe their personnel salaries from July 2015 to date.

    “In the area of sports, our twin pride Sharks and Dolphins may be relegated from the Nigerian Premier League for the first time in so many years. While Wike was busy wasting Rivers State resources in pursuit of his failed project to destroy his benefactor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, he abandoned governance.”

    He said that the security agencies should “keep a close watch on Chief Wike as we are reliably informed that he is planning to run away from facing the wrath of the law.”

  • Rivers APC, PDP at war over Amaechi’s ministerial screening

    Rivers APC, PDP at war over Amaechi’s ministerial screening

    The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday accused the  Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of desperation in its moves to stop the Senate from confirming the nomination of ex-Rivers Governor  Rotimi Amaechi as a minister.

    APC, through its Rivers Publicity Secretary, Chris Finebone, alleged that PDP members have now resorted to blackmailing Mr. Amaechi on the internet with a view to rubbing his image ahead of his screening by the Senate.

    Finebone however, declared that the PDP will not succeed in its campaign against the former governor.

    The state PDP Chairman, Chief Felix Obuah, dismissed the APC defence of Amaechi as laughable and childish.

    The APC in a statement cited two stories which suggested that  Amaechi bribed some APC leaders to facilitate his screening by the Senate and that the federal government is intimidating PDP Senators over the Amaechi matter.

    It said:”In both online publications, agents of Governor Wike and the PDP tried to justify the huge funds the Rivers State Governor is providing to them by concocting wild, pedestrian stories in form of news, which are put out to unsuspecting and gullible online readers.

    “These online outlets have in the past concocted many fake news stories, purporting such stories to be based on interviews with the former governor, that actually never held; they also claimed to have talked with close associates of the former governor, who they fail to name, just because confidentiality of sources is a right accorded to journalists under the law.

    “Again, they continue to indulge in their malfeasance, because most online readers often fail to see through such false stories and the sinister motives of those behind them.

    “It is important to emphasise that Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi did not speak with any journalist as stated in the story under reference. He also did not, at anytime, hold any discussions with associates, friends or any person/persons over the matter of his Senate screening at any time and certainly did not and still does not have reasons to discuss such issues with anyone, along the lines expressed by the shameless online publication. Former Governor Amaechi is at peace with himself and God.

    “The said publications are manifestly false in their entirety. Indeed, they are emanations from the infantile imagination of those behind them and aimed at inciting the Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and blackmail them against the upcoming screening of the former governor as one of the ministerial nominees by President Muhammadu Buhari.”

    APC asked Senators and other Nigerians to discountenance such stories.

    But responding, the Rivers PDP said: “With the historic woeful defeat of the APC in the state, which it ran to total bankruptcy and near collapse notwithstanding the huge internally-generated revenue and accruements from the federal allocations, it is commonsense to fathom why they insist in remaining in office to cover up their loot.

    “Failure to do so explains why the APC in the state and those strangers who assisted in the looting spree, are wrapped in total confusion that is ravaging the party, leaving their members disorientated as being expressed in hollow press statements and ranting.

    “Amaechi would not in any way be an asset to President Muhammadu Buhari and lacks the integrity and morality to speak for Rivers people.”

  • Ministerial screening: Rivers APC, Rivers APC on Amaechi

    Ministerial screening: Rivers APC, Rivers APC on Amaechi

    The Rivers State chapters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday disagreed on the screening of former governor Rotimi Amaechi by the Senate for a ministerial post.

    APC, through its Publicity Secretary, Chris Finebone, insisted that Amaechi will be confirmed by the Upper Chamber whether PDP members liked it or not.

    The party accused PDP members of resorting to internet fake news to blackmail the Senate against Amaechi’s screening

    PDP, through its chairman, Chief Felix Obuah, however condemned APC’s defence of the former governor’s ministerial nomination.

    It described the party’s attempt at shielding as baseless, laughable, childish and mere ranting.

    APC said: “It has come to the notice of the Rivers State chapter of the APC that Governor Nyesom Wike and the PDP, in their failed bid to ensure that the Senate does not screen Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, have now resorted to publishing counterfeit news items through their sponsored Internet news outlets.

    “In online publications, agents of Governor Wike and the PDP tried to justify the huge funds the Rivers State Governor is providing to them by concocting wild, pedestrian stories in form of news, which are put out to unsuspecting and gullible online readers.

    “These online outlets have in the past concocted many fake news stories, purporting such stories to be based on interviews with the former governor, that actually never held; they also claimed to have talked with close associates of the former governor, who they fail to name, just because confidentiality of sources is a right accorded to journalists under the law.

    “Again, they continue to indulge in their malfeasance because most online readers often fail to see through such false stories and the sinister motives of those behind them.

    “It is important to emphasise that Rotimi Amaechi did not speak with any journalist.

    “He also did not, at anytime, hold any discussions with associates, friends or any person/persons over the matter of his Senate screening at any time and certainly did not and still does not have reasons to discuss such issues with anyone, along the lines expressed by the shameless online publication. Former Governor Amaechi is at peace with himself and God.

    “The said publications are manifestly false in their entirety. Indeed, they are emanations from the infantile imagination of those behind them and aimed at inciting the Distinguished Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and blackmail them against the upcoming screening of the former governor as one of the ministerial nominees by President Mohammadu Buhari.”

    APC also urged the Senators and all other Nigerians to discountenance the PDP leaders’ sponsored stories and many more the members of the party were likely to put out in the public domain in the next few days.

    The party noted that the free news it had for the men was that Amaechi would soon become a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, declaring that the matter was beyond mortal men like them.

    The Rivers PDP however noted that the APC’s alleged indefensible, laughable and recourse to tendentious gossip, in an attempt to protect Amaechi, a former Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), amounted to glorifying corruption.

    It said: “With the historic woeful defeat of the APC in the state, which it ran to total bankruptcy and near collapse notwithstanding, the huge internally-generated revenue and accruements from the federal allocation, it is commonsense to fathom why they insist in remaining in office to cover up their loot.

    “Failure to do so explains why the APC in the state and those strangers who assisted in the looting spree, are wrapped in total confusion that is ravaging the party, leaving their members disorientated as being expressed in hollow press statements and ranting.

    “Amaechi would not in any way be an asset to President Muhammadu Buhari and lacks the integrity and morality to speak for Rivers people.”

     

  • Wike, Rivers APC disagree on Amaechi, projects

    •APC: governor wasted over N120b
    •’I’m prudent’

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike yesterday said he was running a prudent administration and managing the state’s resources well.

    The governor spoke when he conducted reporters round some projects his administration was executing in parts of the state.

    Wike, a former chief of staff in the Government House, Port Harcourt, and the director-general of Rotimi Amaechi Campaign Organisation in 2011, said his administration decided to first complete the projects started by his predecessor for the benefit of Rivers State residents to prevent abandonment.

    The governor assured that he would also start new projects.

    But the All Progressives Congress (APC) said the governor spread falsehood and propaganda in his 100 days in office.

    The party accused the governor of wasting over N120 billion since assuming office.

    A statement yesterday in Port Harcourt, the state capital, by its Chairman, Chief Davies Ikanya, through his Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Media and Public Affairs, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, insisted that Wike betrayed his benefactor and former boss, former Governor Amaechi.

     

     

  • Rivers APC, REC disagree on detention, others

    The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Dame Gesila Khan, have disagreed on political activities and the REC’s detention.

    APC, through the Secretary of its Media and Publicity Committee, Godstime Orlukwu, yesterday in Port Harcourt, declared that Dame Khan was a victim of her devices.

    The party noted that the REC’s claim that she was detained by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) for two weeks was the figment of her imagination.

    But the REC insisted that she and other INEC officials were putting in their best and not taking sides.

    She expressed surprise at her alleged arrest and detention by the DSS.

    The party said: “The APC believes the DSS that Dame Khan was never detained. Rather, the DSS invited her for questioning, having been convinced that her actions and deliberate inactions constituted a serious threat to the security of Rivers State and, by extension, that of the country.

    “Dame Khan’s decision to be evasive, in order not to release the materials used in the last elections to the APC and to avoid complying with the tribunal’s orders on inspection of electoral materials, were deemed to be grave, capable of negatively affecting the peace, tranquillity and security of the state and nation.

    “She was making one excuse or the other to avoid complying with the orders of the tribunal.

    “The APC will like to challenge Dame Khan to show evidence that she was detained overnight by the DSS, let alone two weeks, as she is claiming.

    “If Dame Khan complied with the law, why should INEC’s national headquarters in Abuja send a task force to Rivers State to deliver the materials, as ordered by the tribunal?”

    APC said it was convinced that the REC’s latest assertions were aimed at currying public sympathy and drawing attention away from her alleged deceit before, during and after the March 28 and April 11 general election.

    The party added that such antics would not exonerate the REC, an indigene of Bayelsa State, and her cohorts from their electoral sins in Rivers State.

    Dame Khan said during the presidential election, three national commissioners were in the state; same during the governorship poll.

    The REC said three INEC’s administrative secretaries are currently in the state.

    She noted that the presence of the administrative secretaries was meant to fast-track the sorting of the electoral materials used in the last general elections, as ordered by the tribunal.

    Dame Khan added that the requests were time-bound and the materials voluminous.

    She said: “We have been working since. Today (yesterday), it is either this document or another. Some they want in long hand, while some they want it in short hand. So, the law says when they request, you give them, and since the time is very short, we have to.

    “The head office (INEC in Abuja) decided to draft three administrative secretaries as support so that we can meet up with the time. I think you have seen them. We should conclude this exercise (inspection of election materials) before the tribunals’ sittings comes to an end.

    “We are human beings, and if you are told to produce 1,000 copies today, you will produce it. Even machines break down, not to talk of man. So, we are going to put in our best. That is what you have seen there (INEC headquarters in Port Harcourt).”

    On her rumoured transfer from Rivers State, the REC said: “I am here and I am still here. I have not been transferred. If I have been transferred, I should not be sitting here. I should be picking my things.

    “Even if I have been transferred, there is nothing wrong with that, because it is government work and anytime you are called to move, you must move. But for now, I have not been called to move.”

    When asked by reporters on if she had any regrets working as INEC’s REC in Rivers state, she said: “No regret whatsoever. I am a Human Resources practitioner. So, anything you see in life, you move along with it. You cannot predict man. They are free to think and say what they want.”

     

  • Rivers APC: Wike in panic over Buhari’s probe

    Rivers APC: Wike in panic over Buhari’s probe

    The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has said Governor Nyesom Wike is in panic over President Muhammadu Buhari’s readiness to probe the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

    The party, in a statement by its spokesman, Chris Finebone, said Wike should not be afraid if he did not soil his hand as minister of state for education.

    The statement reads: “It has come to the attention of the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), that the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike and his party, the PDP have been thrown into panic mode since  President, Muhammadu Buhari dropped the hint that corrupt ministers and officials of the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan would be probed.

    “As part of the cauldron of confusion in which the governor and his party have been thrown into, the spokesperson of the governor, Opunabo Inko-Tariah recently came out with what would pass for a litany of incoherent ironical lines which clearly typifies the quandary in which the governor and his party now find themselves.

    “Like the proverbial sinking man who is bent on dragging anyone in sight, Wike babbled between name-callings of Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and President Buhari to threats of resistance in an obvious display of disconcerted state of mind and disorientated thought process.

    “On one hand, the governor, through Mr. Inko-Tariah, claimed to support the fight against corruption and that everything should be done to retrieve our stolen commonwealth but quickly turned around to recommend what the scope, span and colour of the probe should be. Not done, the governor threatened resistance should Mr. President not adopt his own (Wike’s) anti-corruption crusade template.

    “For a governor who set up a probe panel with a mandate to probe only the last 18 months of his predecessor’s administration to now turn around to insist that the President should extend his probe to cover the last 30 years says so much about the character and persona of Governor Nyesom Wike. One may ask, between the governor’s 18-month probe and that of the President which spans four years, which is a more selective probe? Is it that Governor Nyesom Wike thinks Rivers State is now a state populated by nit-wits?

    Governor Wike’s warning to the Department of State Security (DSS) on the arrest of Dame Gesila Khan, INEC REC for Rivers State is understandable to even the most naive observer. We believe that the humongous sum of N700 million reportedly found in her account must be funds the Jonathan Presidency and  Nyesom Wike paid out to the woman to buy the mandate of Rivers people in the last general elections. Sadly, they did not tutor her well enough on how to deal with such huge amount of money. You cannot have a perfect crime.

     “Finally, Gov. Wike’s lamentations are not as a result of the governor’s concern for former President Goodluck Jonathan; Wike is clearly weeping for himself because his indictment on the humongous fraud that took place in the Federal Ministry of Education and Universal Basic Education Commission all under his watch as Minister of State and substantive Minister, clearly hang on his neck like the hangman’s noose waiting to snap.”

  • Rivers APC heads for election tribunal

    Rivers APC heads for election tribunal

    •Says poll fraud won’t stand 

    •Party to boycott today’s rescheduled polls in Rivers, Bayelsa

    The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has disclosed that it is about to conclude arrangements to storm the state Election Tribunal to reclaim its mandate, which it claimed was stolen by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in connivance with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Police during the governorship polls of April 11.

    In a press release made available to newsmen on Friday and signed by the SSA Media and Public Affairs to the State Chairman, APC Rivers State, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, the Rivers State APC Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, reassured the people of the state that the mandate which they freely gave to the party and to its governorship candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, would soon be retrieved for the good of the future of the state.

    According to the statement, “This brazen electoral theft by Chief Nyesome Wike and his PDP gangsters cannot be allowed to stand. These power-drunk anti-democratic elements, in their desperation for power, were not discreet in their electoral fraud that saw the allocation of a bogus over a million votes to Chief Wike. The documents and video tapes so far assembled will surely see many Rivers INEC and PDP chieftains being thrown into jail at the end of the day,” Ikanya said.

    Rivers APC declared that it has an iron-cast case against Wike and PDP, saying that it is not surprised that Wike, who cannot win up to 30 per cent of the votes in a free and fair election in Rivers State, is now desperately running from pillar to post in a bid to prevent the APC from going to the Tribunal.

    “We wish to appeal to our members and the entire people of Rivers State to remain calm and resolute as the party goes to the Tribunal to retrieve their stolen mandate. Our case is as clear as daylight, as even Prof. Wole Soyinka, Ambassador John Endwistle of the United States of America, the European Union Electoral Observers and other international bodies have since testified that the elections purportedly conducted in Rivers State were a sham,” Ikanaya stated.

    Meanwhile, ahead of today’s rescheduled state assembly poll in the state, the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the state assembly in the six constituencies in Rivers State, where the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rescheduled election for today have disclosed that they are boycotting the exercise.

    The aggrieved candidates also said that they have obtained a court injunction restraining INEC from conducting the rescheduled election, which INEC has said would hold today.

    Speaking on behalf of the candidates in Port Harcourt yesterday, Hon. Chid Llyod, who is currently the lawmaker representing Emohua constituency, listed many reasons for the boycott, chief of which was that they have lost confidence in the state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dame Gesila Khan to conduct a free and fair election.

    Llyod also said that “there has been no official communication by INEC to us and our party, the APC, about the so called elections to be supervised by Gesila Khan, whose handling of the recent elections has been most controversial.”

    Llyod also said that with the heavy presence of armed militants during the April 11, 2015 election, they cannot guarantee the safety of their own lives, their supporters and other voters.

    The APC candidates, who quoted the reference numbers of the court injunction which they obtained from the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt on Friday, also added that all the relevant parties in the case have been duly served.

    The constituencies where INEC said it would re-run the election are: Emohua; Etche 1; Etche 11; Ahoada East 1 and Ahoada East 11.

    In a similar development, candidates of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and 12 other political parties in Bayelsa State yesterday declared their resolution to boycott the elections rescheduled to hold today in eight state House of Assembly constituencies.

    INEC had postponed elections in the eight constituencies, citing insufficient electoral materials.

    But a coalition of 13 political parties, including the APC, in a press briefing in Yenagoa, said they pulled out of the elections after discovering that the state office of INEC had entered into a “concrete agreement” with the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to undo other parties.

    The parties, in a statement signed by the Chairman of the APC, Mr. Tiwe Oruminighe, and other leaders of the concerned parties, said INEC and PDP had perfected a plot to hoard all sensitive materials meant for the election.

    “Their ploy is to hoard all the sensitive electoral materials, result sheets inclusive, such that after the conduct of the election with non-sensitive materials, INEC staff, the electoral officers of the eight local government in the state will converge at designated places to enter their manufactured results into the original result sheets in favour of PDP”, they said.

    The aggrieved parties further accused PDP of perfecting an illegal arrangement to use the military to intimidate, harass and muzzle other candidates and genuine voters to favour the PDP candidates.

    The parties said they chose to boycott the elections to avoid bloodshed, destruction and maiming which could be provoked by the “wicked intentions” of PDP and INEC.

    Party leaders who signed the statement are Gerebo Joseph (UDP), Abbey Daniel (APA), Helen Okorodas (ACD), Tukuwei Powede (ACPN), Bezi William (UPP) and Olomu Ebiowei (LP),

    Others are Edwin Tare (DPP), King-George Lucky (CPP), Isaac Eze (MPPP), Oniekpe Prince (SDP) and Owei-tongu Woniwei (AD).

    However, the state chapter of Conference of Nigeria Political Parties, (CNPP), dissociated itself from the boycott.

    The reasons adduced for the boycott, according to a statement signed by Chairman of the CNPP, Mr. Lucky Akpeli, were not strong enough.

  • Rivers APC protests killing of loyalist

    Rivers APC protests killing of loyalist

    The Rivers State Commissioner for Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, Jeo Poroma, yesterday, led supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kpite, to protest the killing of Mr. Saturday Lekia, by thugs.

    Speaking at the palace of Gbenemene of Tai Kingdom, Godwin Gininwa, Poroma said the party supporters should guard against what happened on March 28.

    He said Lekia died of blood loss after being shot by suspected thugs loyal to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The commissioner said a PDP chieftain was being fingered for the murder, urging the monarch to act fast for peace to reign.

    King  Gininwa hailed the supporters for conducting themselves peacefully.

    “I want to plead to you and your leader to take heart over the death of an Ogoni son.

    “The PDP chieftain must apologise to Ogoni people or I will apply traditional means to ensure that he complies with our directive. “Please don’t retaliate, because if you do there will be more deaths,” Gininwa said.

  • Rivers APC rejects results of ‘fraudulent elections’

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has rejected the results of Saturday’s elections released yesterday by the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state, Mrs. Gesila Khan.

    President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was declared winner of the election in Rivers by a wide margin. All the senatorial and House of Representatives’ seats, according to Khan, were    won by the PDP’s candidates, in spite of the non-availability of original result sheets during the elections– a situation which spanked on APC boycott.

    The Director of Communications of Rivers APC’s Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside’s Greater Together Campaign Organisation, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari said that the released results were unacceptable, but asked the members of the party to remain calm.

    Semenitari said: “The REC of INEC in Rivers State, Mrs. Gesila Khan, has just engineered a rape of democracy in Rivers State. Mrs. Khan, who made no pretense as to her bias for the PDP, today (yesterday) denied the over one million APC voters in Rivers State their voice. This is not acceptable to us and we reiterate our call for the cancellation of all elections in Rivers State.

    “Mrs. Khan was kept abreast of all protests of the APC by its state party agent, Barr. Achinike William–Wobodo, whom her staff unceremoniously sent out of the collation centre on Saturday, March 28, 2015.

    “Besides the seven petitions before her (Rivers REC of INEC), written and signed by Barr. William-Wobodo, Mrs. Khan is aware that a petition from Rivers State is before the Chairman of INEC (Prof. Attahiru Jega) and he has announced investigationPIC. 17. RESULT COLLATION FOR 2015 PRESIDENTIAL AND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS IN ABUJAs into the Rivers State case. The APC in Rivers State rejects in its totality, the false and misleading results presented by Mrs. Khan.”

    The Rivers APC’s governorship candidate’s director of communications, who doubles as the state’s Commissioner for Information and Communications, also expressed optimism that the results of the sham elections in Rivers would be cancelled, the REC removed and a new date for fresh polls announced by Jega.