Aftermath Of Rivers Re-Run Elections: PDP Rejects APC’s Call For Cancellation

 

…Says APC Chairman, Ikanya Is Ignorant of The Law

…Says Amaechi, Abe, Dakuku Plan To Destabilize Rivers State

…Calls On Nigerians, Int’l Community To Ignore Ikanya’s APC’s Call

The Chairman, Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Bro. Felix Obuah has vehemently condemned and rejected call for the cancellation of the entire re-run elections by the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Mr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya.

Rivers PDP Chairman, Bro. Obuah said the Electoral Act, clearly spells out condition for cancellation of results, saying all the results in the re-run election won by candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party substantially complied with all the provisions of both the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act.

Having strictly complied with the provisions of the Electoral Act and results declared, as stipulated by law, it cannot therefore be cancelled by INEC. So, the APC leadership or anybody calling for such cancellation is ignorant of the law and such call amounts to an invitation to anarchy in the State, the State PDP boss noted.

Accordingly, he added, the APC Chairman, Mr. Ikanya, is ignorant of the law, desperate and is a do or die politician who is plotting to destabilize the State.

The State PDP Chairman recalled that a week to the election, Amaechi threatened to flood the State with the Military and he did, thereby arrogating to himself the power of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

Amaechi,who promised that the election will be the freest and most peaceful,  also effected the transfer of the former INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, and all staff, and openly declared same, boasting  that he has the Army, Police, Airforce, DSS, etc in his pockets.

It is on record that Amaechi, Dakuku Peterside, Magnus Abe, Barry Mpigi, Ojukaye Flag-Amachree, Ibim Semenitari, Felix Nwaeke moved around on election day with soldiers and used them to harass and intimidate the voters and PDP members, while at most places APC members where pointing and identifying PDP members to the Nigerian soldiers to beat, arrest and harass.

The question that begs for answer is, why will the Nigerian Army be loyal to Amaechi, Abe, Ikanya, Dakuku, Felix Nwaeke, Ojukaye Flag-Amachree, Barry Mpigi and all APC Chieftains and members?

We would expect therefore that Ikanya should be truthful by explaining the content of the vehicle in which he, Dakuku and Asita were travelling at the period when they were not expected to be moving about during the restriction of movement, even as they are not from same electoral ward or senatorial district.

Ikanya should explain to the public the purpose of their journey and their destination.

Rather than accept that the Chief of Staff, Emeka Woke, intercepted the movement of election results from Ikwerre LGA, he (Ikanya) and they attempted to kill him (Woke), Ikanya is alleging assassination attempt. This is a matter for the security agencies to investigate.

The APC is yet to tell the people what they want. It is appalling that while the State Secretariat of the APC is calling for cancellation of the elections, on alleged irregularities, amongst other claims, the APC candidates for Oyigbo and Opobo/Nkoro State Constituencies are already celebrating their purported victories, describing same election as free, fair and peaceful. What a contradiction and confusion?

It is also unfortunate that Mr. Ikanya deliberately twisted  and misrepresented facts in the circumstances leading to the cancellation of elections in the affected LGAs, particularly Gokana, Khana, Tai, Andoni and Eleme, when it was evident that the APC, in connivance with Nigerian soldiers and INEC officials, brought in fake result sheets and ballot papers to those areas.

It was on discovery of the fake election materials that the PDP leaders and supporters protested and threatened to boycott the exercise, leading to the condemnable arrest, assault and detention of the PDP leaders and members in those LGAs by the APC controlled soldiers and security agencies.

The PDP calls on Mr. Ikanya to truly explain to the public the circumstances that resulted to the killing of a woman, Baby Nzuugah, mother of four children, in Kpite, Tai, by soldiers escorting diverted election materials meant for the LGA to Mr. Barry Mpigi’s house in Koroma.

Mr. Ikanya should also tell the truth on who abducted the Ward 10 INEC Collation Officer, Mrs. Ekwi Adebisa, as evidence abound that Rotimi Amaechi and other APC chieftains abducted the woman and forced her to falsify election results for the area.

The PDP calls on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the general public to ignore Mr. Ikanya and APC’s call for outright cancellation, as it is clear that the failure of the APC to successfully hijack and manipulate the process and results informed the party’s latest retrogressive decision.

Even though we’re confident that if elections are conducted over and over in the State, the PDP will continue to win, as a popular and grassroots party, our concern is the fact that a wrong precedence would have been set if INEC yields to such ill-conceived, selfish and undemocratic call by the APC.

It is on the strength of this that we unreservedly urge INEC to release the remaining results from the field won by candidates of the PDP, to regain its integrity and confidence of the Nigerian electorate and the International community.

We also call on Mr. Ikanya and his colleagues to stop deceiving the people and Nigerians on issues concerning the re-run elections in the State and to accept defeat.

Aftermath Of Rivers Re-Run Elections: PDP Rejects APC’s Call For Cancellation