… Call for strict adherence to Electoral Act
From TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt
Governorship candidates of all the political parties in Rivers State, for the Saturday, March 18, 2023, governorship and House of Assembly elections have accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of planning to manipulate the electoral processes to favour the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
The candidates and the political parties include: All Progressives Congress (APC), Tonye Colle; National Rescue Movement NRM), Sobomabo Jackrich; Action Alliance (AA), Dawari George; Accord (A), Dumo Lulu-Briggs and African Democratic Congress (ADC), Tonte Ibraye.
They have also called for strict adherence with the Electoral Act 2022 provisions and INEC regulations in the conduct of the forthcoming polls in the state.
The governorship candidates, in a joint press conference, in Port Harcourt, on Wednesday, said they had uncovered a well-orchestrated plot by certain top officials of the INEC in Rivers State, to compromise the governorship and State House of Assembly elections billed for Saturday.
Briefing journalists, Tonye Cole of the APC, alleged that INEC has planned to execute the plot in connivance with officials of the State Government and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to rig the forthcoming elections in favour of PDP candidates in the respective polls.
Cole further alleged that the ruling government wants to use the instrumentality of the 23 Local Government Area Council Secretariats serving as LGA Collation Centres by the INEC, to rig and manipulate the results of the goverrnorship and House of Assembly elections.
He claimed: “That governor has instructed all LGA executive chairmen, as the chief security officers of their respective Local Government Areas, to carry out what he calls “Operation No Mercy” on every other party agent. The council chairmen are to ensure those agents representing their parties’ interests do not have access to the Collation Centres.”
According to the governorship candidates, the ruling government has also assured INEC officials of their safety provided they comply with the PDP agents to manipulate the process before taking it out to the State Collation Centre.
In view of the foregoing, the governorship candidates have urged that INEC and every relevant authority should stop government officials from accessing the collation centres.
Also, in accordance with Section 43 (1) of the Electoral Act 2022 prohibiting government officials from acting or serving as agents to political parties at elections, INEC and relevant security authorities should restrict the movement of all Rivers State government officials.
Also, they said INEC should ensure that all categories of officials prohibited by the Electoral Act should stay away from the collation centres as their presence will compromise the process.
Among their prayers are, “That only persons who are party agents according to law and designated INEC officials should have access to the Collation Centres at the Ward, LGA and State levels only party agents be allowed access to the collation centers.
“That on no account should Governor Wike be exempt from the restrictions of access to collation centres in accordance with the law. Moreover, as his presence at the Obio/Akpor Council Collation Centre in the last and previous elections compromised the process and cast doubts on the credibility and ability of INEC to conduct free, fair, and credible elections in the State.
“That activities of INEC officials and Ad-Hoc Staff should be closely monitored as there is connivance between some INEC officials and officials of the Rivers State Government to rig and compromise the process in favour of the PDP.
“That we want peaceful, free, fair and credible elections in the State where the will of the people will not be subverted as we saw during the Presidential and National Assembly elections.”
The governorship candidates, therefore, called on the President Muhammadu Buhari, to direct security agencies to intensify surveillance on INEC and the Central Bank of Nigeria to safeguard the electoral process and the forthcoming elections in Rivers State.
They, however, urged foreign missions and International Elections Observers take deep interest in the elections in Rivers State to avert any danger and subversion of the will of majority of Rivers people and the electorate here.