*Military arrest Wike’s aide, governor chides commission
over poor preparation
Due to violence and the prevention of electoral officials
from distributing election materials, the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday
suspended elections in six local government areas in the
Rivers State re-run elections.
This came as at least six persons were killed in election
violence in three local government areas.
The state governor, Nyesom Wike, also chided INEC for
shoddy arrangements that led to late kick-off of voting
in most centres, just as the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) alleged the arrest of Secretary to State
Government, Kenneth Kobani, and the Special Adviser to
the Governor on Special Projects, Cyril Dum Wite by
soldiers at Kpor and Bori in Gokana and Khana Local
Government Areas respectively.
The areas where INEC suspended elections are Eleme,
Khana, Gokana, Andoni, Bonny and Tai. Apart from
Bonny, the remaining areas are in Rivers South East
Senatorial District where Senators Magnus Abe of the
All Progressives Congress (APC) and Olaka Nwogu of
PDP are locked in fierce contest for the senatorial seat.
Speaking to journalists in Port Harcourt yesterday in
the course of the elections, Rivers State Resident
Electoral Commissioner (REC), Aniedi Ikoiwak, said the
commission was forced to suspend elections in the
affected areas because interested parties prevented its
officials from distributing election materials and also
because of violence in the areas.
His words: “Actually, we had deployed, as we told
Nigerians, from Thursday and I did mention it clearly
that if by act of commission or omission, we are not
allowed to occupy the Registration Area Centres (RACs),
we cannot actually guarantee that we can deliver 100 per
cent.
“Today, we have had the experience where most of our
materials were not even allowed to move in; some were
returned on the way. Even when we tried to deploy to
the RACs in some of the places this morning, certain
people with excuses also tried to prevent us from doing
so.
“There were accusations of not believing in the
materials we brought and so on and so forth. There
were issues of violence; there were issues of insecurity
of lives. After all, we let the people know, but at the
end of the day, we were still prevented from moving
out. From 12 noon to 1pm, we did not see that it was
necessary for us to continue to press to go to the field.
“Even some of our people who were able to get to the
field, they were turned back with sporadic shootings.
So, it was better for the life of the personnel to be
preserved than trying to conduct the election, even
when the environment is not conducive.”
He said: “So we need to let everybody be aware that
election is suspended in Andoni, Khana, Gokana, Bonny,
Tai and Eleme LGAs. The commission is watching
developments in other local government areas and we
will brief the press accordingly.”
On the issue of fake election result sheets, Ikoiwak said,
“I don’t think there was anything like fake result sheets;
I think I have said that times without number. You can
imagine what you think but what we know in the
commission was that only a result sheet was produced
and you cannot say a thing that does not have a
duplicate is fake because fake must be compared with
the original. So what we had was the original; the fake
may be in the imagination of those making such an
allegation.”
Casualties of the elections included four persons killed
in Eleme; a PDP agent in Tai, Tambari Ntoto; and a staff
of Nigeria Immigration Service in Abonnema, Akukutoru
Local Government Area of the state.
One person, Lucky Igweh, was shot by soldiers at
Rumuokwuta in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of
the the state, where Wike hails from.
He was rushed to the hospital by policemen deployed to
the area.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ahmad
Muhammad (DSP), however said only one person was
killed at Eleme during the elections.
Meanwhile, Wike declared that INEC was not prepared
for the re-run elections in the state, noting that the
challenges that greeted the elections would have been
avoided if the commission had prepared for the polls.
He expressed regret that some areas in the state did not
have result sheets, which could lead to violence as the
people suspect foul play.
Speaking after he voted at Ward 9 Unit 7 in Obio/Akpor
Local Government Area, Wike said information available
to him indicated that INEC failed to take necessary
measures to ensure credible polls.
He said: “It is obvious that INEC was not prepared for
the re-run elections. They refused to tell members of
the public the challenges they hard “.
The accreditation process for the governor was
cumbersome as two card readers were used severally
before the governor was eventually accredited to vote.
However, his wife, Justice Suzzette, was accredited
smoothly.
The governor told journalists that in several polling
units, information of scanned results were received.
He, however, gave pass mark to the security agencies
for maintaining law and order in the state.
Meanwhile, soldiers in Port Harcourt arrested nine
persons with election materials.
However two of the suspects told journalists that they
did not do anything untoward.
PDP, the ruling party in the state, alleged that soldiers
in Ogoniland arrested the Secretary to the State
Government, Kenneth Kobani, and also the Special
Adviser to Wike on Special Projects, Cyril Dum Wite.
The party also alleged that many of its members were
beaten up.
A statement issued by the Special Adviser on Media and
Publicity to Rivers PDP Chairman, Felix Obuah, Jerry
Needam, alleged that soldiers at the INEC centres in
Gokana and Khana local government areas beat the
Commissioner for Environment, Professor Roseline
Konya, to a state of coma.
“The Secretary to the State Government, Hon Kenneth
Kobani, Special Adviser on Special projects to the State
Governor, Hon Cyril Dum Wite and over 2000 PDP
members across the state have been beaten, arrested
and detained by the Nigerian Army drafted to conduct
the election by Mr Rotimi Amaechi, Magnus Abe and the
APC.”
Describing the action of the military against Rivers
people and members of the PDP as genocide, the party
said, “The Nigerian Army disobeyed two separate court
orders, restraining them from participating in Rivers re-
run election and in Rivers South East Senatorial District
of the State.
“All electoral materials for Tai Local Government Area
of Rivers State have been hijacked by Barry Mpigi
assisted by the soldiers.
“Attempts by voters to resist the hijack of the election
materials led to the killing of two pregnant women and
scores of people, by armed men in military uniform.
“Election in the 15 units of Ward 3, Oyigbo Local
Government Area of the State were also disrupted and
materials taken away by soldiers of the Nigerian Army,
who shot sporadically while carting away all electoral
materials.”
The party called on INEC to cancel the re-run election in
Tai, Oyigbo, Gokana, Khana and all other local
government areas of the state, where soldiers had
allegedly connived with the APC to hijack electoral
materials, kill, maim, destroy properties, arrest and
detain PDP members.
Also following the delay in the collation process of the
results of the election, PDP is alleging deliberate ploy
by INEC officials to connive with members of the APC to
rig the election.
The apprehension is due to the fact that as at 11: 06pm,
collation materials were yet to be given to the polling
officers to present results of the election, a
development that agents of the PDP described as
“orchestrated” plan to manipulate the outcome of the
election.
Reacting to the development yesterday night at the
Port Harcourt Registration Area Centre (RAC), the
Rivers State Commissioner for Urban Planning and
Physical Development, Mr. Chinyere Igwe, who is also
the agent of the PDP senatorial candidate for Port
Harcourt LGA, alleged that the delay was part of a game
plan.
“INEC started well by saying that accreditation should
go on with voting. That was a very good decision. So,
by 3 o’clock voting had been concluded, so all things
being equal we are not supposed to be here by this
time. That is what made me say that there was an
orchestrated plan to rig this election. From 8am till now
(11: 06), INEC has not released collation material to 20
collation officers.
“Fortunately, the REC came in and saved the situation
that is why we have some respite now; he ordered that
they should release the materials that are ready and
come back to the state office that he would give them
more materials. The result should have been announced
by now,” Igwe said.
Repeated calls to the APC Publicity Secretary, Mr. Chris
Finebone, for clarification on the issue and several other
allegations against the party yielded no result as he did
not pick his calls. However, the Special Adviser, Media
to the Rivers State APC chairman, Dr. Davis Ibiamu,
Chief Chukwuemeka Eze said
the allegations of the PDP were baseless.
“Our reaction to PDP’s accusation of master minding the
arrests of the SSG, Kenneth Kobani, SA on Special
Projects and beating up of Roseline Konya and of being
quiet about the collation of results because we want to
manipulate its final outcome; why should we mastermind
the arrest of Kobani?
“What is his political relevance? Does his position as
SSG place him above the law? Are we the one that
asked him to be lawless that warranted his arrest? We
are orderly and decent group that wants the best for
Rivers State.
“Rt. Hon. Amaechi who is a Minister of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria was directed by the Deputy
Inspector General of Police to vote and leave for his
residence and he complied, then who is Kobani to be
moving around intimidating voters in polling units that
he does not belong to? Is it because he belongs to PDP
that makes him to be above the law? He contravened
the law and must face the music…”
Reacting to PDP allegation that APC connived with INEC
to delay the announcement of result in order to rig the
election, he said “we need not exchange words with PDP
all the time on issues that are very clear to the public.
We all know that PDP in Rivers State is a lawless
society that believes in the manipulation of electoral
results and that is why the court could nullify almost all
their 2015 electoral victories. We have seen all the fake
results they have continued to dish out to the public
through the social media but to us we can only wait for
the results announced by INEC before we can make any
comment. We are not lawless like PDP to manipulate
any result.”
Generally, there was a large turnout of voters for the
highly anticipated Rivers State rerun elections to fill
state House of Assembly, House Representatives and
Senate seats held under heavy security but the process
was marred by violence, alleged use of fake result
sheets and late arrival of election materials to polling
units.
Despite the fact that elections were expected to have
been concluded by 2pm in various polling units across
the state election materials and Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) staff were not sighted as
at 1pm in some cases.
When THISDAY visited the Mile 3 area of Port Harcourt
at exactly 12noon, INEC officials and election materials
were just arriving. As at 2pm there were no elections in
Andoni ward 2 and 9 because election materials were
yet to arrive.
In ward 6 of Obio/Akpor LGA, which is Governor
Nyesom Wike’s LGA some ballot papers were reportedly
missing and this has been linked to the delay in
commencing voting in the area as there was need to
sort it out.
It took the heavy military presence in Gokana and Khana
in Ogoni area to quell the anger of the electorate as
they alleged that fake election materials were brought
to the area. The electoral process in in the area was
also disrupted – though the election materials arrived
there early, but voters alleged that they were fake.
Though there were initial concerns that over 2000 police
officers were not promptly deployed to the various
polling units to protect INEC officials, the Rivers State
Police PRO, DSP, Ahmad Muhammed said that
everything was going as planned.
According to him, “16, 000 regular policemen in addition
to mobile officers have been deployed for the election,”
he added that “the officers on ground were just on
standby,” to complement where necessary.
ThisDay
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