• Police chief: Governor’s allegations unfounded
•APC: Rivers residents should ignore governor’s allegations
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has said the police high command has withdrawn 200 of the 250 policemen posted to the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
The governor accused the police of partisanship, ahead of Saturday’s rerun.
Speaking yesterday on Channels Television flagship breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily, Wike said Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had taken several actions, which connoted it was working for a particular party and its interest.
He said: “They (police) have assigned Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) personnel to All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates without assigning any to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates.
“The SARS operatives have been assigned to APC candidates for them to intimidate PDP supporters on election day.
“I have written the inspector-general of Police (IGP) five letters that the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in charge of Operations, Steven Hasso, and the Commander of SARS, Akin Fakorede, have threatened to kill me. But the IGP has not replied to even one letter.”
But Police Commissioner Francis Odesanya said Wike’s allegations about the withdrawal of policemen were false.
The police chief said his officers were still at the Government House.
He urged reporters to investigate the governor’s allegations to present the truth to the public.
Odesanya said: “Go to the Government House; the policemen are there. I don’t want to be repeating the same issue. If the governor said I have withdrawn his police personnel, then it is the work of an investigative journalist to find out the truth in the allegation. I don’t want to join issues with him.”
Wike accused INEC of overheating the polity by its actions.
The governor said the electoral umpire did not behave in ways that made the public has confidence in its duties.
He said security agencies planned to assassinate him.
Wike said his public statements against INEC and the police were backed by incontrovertible facts and intelligence reports in his possession.
The governor said aside weak press statements, INEC and the police could not deny what he called weighty allegations.
He added that during the March 19 rerun in the state, INEC allegedly suspended elections in eight local governments, including Tai, and declared what he called concocted results, four months later, in favour of APC.
According to him, INEC did not list Tai as one of the local governments where rerun would hold.
Wike said before the March 19 rerun, he issued statements that INEC allegedly planned to use APC members as collation officers.
The governor said it was proved that majority of the collation officers, who ran away from collation centres, were card-carrying APC members.
Wike added that he raised the issue of fake result sheets on the March 19 rerun, which he said INEC denied.
The governor said elections were suspended in eight local governments because electoral officers allegedly used fake result sheets, which he said the people resisted.
On the December 10 rerun, he said despite the fact that training was still going on, INEC released a list of ad hoc workers.
Wike insisted that the list was dominated by APC members.
He said: “There is an agenda against Rivers State. I have to defend my people. I have to protect my people.”
The governor reiterated his earlier statement that he had a video footage detailing how the police commissioner and others allegedly plotted to rig the rerun.
According to him, when the video is released at the appropriate time, it will shock the nation about the extent security agents, INEC and the police were allegedly willing to steal the people’s mandate.
Wike said: “Our position is that people should be allowed to vote. They are prepared to lose seven states, in as much as they can take Rivers State.”
The governor insisted that PDP remains the party of choice in the state because his administration had massively developed the state.
He said: “It is our performance that gives us the confidence that we will win. We are always inaugurating and kick-starting projects. We have made positive impact on our people.
“When I walk on the streets, you see people troop out, happy. There is no part of this state that I have not sited a project. That is what gives me joy. My joy is also that we are paying salaries up to date. We have paid pension arrears. There is nothing APC will use to campaign against us.”
He noted that Rivers State is one of the most peaceful where oil exploitation is taking place without vandals destroying pipelines.
Wike stressed that the state, through funding of security logistics and community networking; has ensured protection of national assets.
The governor said: “We are protecting national assets and there has been no pipeline vandalism in the state. Nobody has commended us. Whatever you achieve supporting the Federal Government, they will never agree.”
