By Clifford Ndujihe
& Egufe Yafugborhi

FIVE days to the resumption of electoral processes by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to conclude the governorship and state assembly polls in Rivers State, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and All Progressives Congress, APC, are at each other’s throat over alleged threats to peace and credible elections.

PDP chairman, Uche Secondus and APC chairman Adams Oshiomhole

Although the APC is not taking part in the governorship election, the party has adopted the African Action Congress, AAC Candidate, Biokpomabo Awara and considers itself a major participant in the poll.

Midway into the elections on March 9, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, suspended the exercise citing snatching of electoral materials and violence among others.

However, last week, the electoral umpire, fixed between April 2 and April 5 for the resumption of collation and announcement of the results of the poll, and between April 13 and 15 for the supplementary poll and April 15 and announcement of all results.

Ahead of the resumption of the electoral activities, the Rivers PDP, yesterday, alerted security agencies over alleged ”fresh threat to law and order” being incubated by the APC.

APC countered the PDP and also flayed Mr. Akpo Bomba Yeeh, the AAC deputy governorship candidate, who on Monday defected to the PDP.

How APC is inciting violence – PDP

State chairman of the PDP, Mr. Felix Obuah, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Jerry Needam, said: ”The Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has again raised alarm and wants the security agencies to take note of inciting statements to cause breach of the law and order in the State by card carrying members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, under the guise of civil society organizations.”

PDP said its renewed alarm was against the backdrop of fresh threats by one Jackson Omenazu, a close ally of the Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi and staunch APC member during Monday, March 25, 2019 protest by the so-called International Society of Social Justice and ‘Human Rights and Advocate for Justice’ at the office of the Director for State Services (DSS) and the police in Port Harcourt.

The statement described as worrisome the penchant to set the stage on fire by APC members and surrogates, and more shocking, ”the effrontery to boast before the security agencies of their intentions, yet the law enforcement officers tend to turn deaf ears to such threats.”

https://newlive.vanguardngr.com/2019/03/bauchi-supplementary-voters-appreciate-security-presence-at-polling-units/

The State PDP recalled similar alarms over pre-election ”APC’s macabre songs and beating of war drums to which the PDP also raised alarm but were not followed up, the result of which was the avoidable killings and destruction of properties of Rivers people in parts of the State during the 2019 general elections.

”We are calling on the security agencies for the umpteenth time, the PDP noted, that Jackson Omenazu is only fronting for Mr Amaechi and the APC using the claimed ‘civic society organization’ as an umbrella and should be put under watch and better still, investigated over inciting statements against the peace of the state.”

PDP crying wolf where there is none – APC leaders

Countering, APC leaders displayed what they described as ”Rivers State Election fraud-Facts, Questions and Answers” arguing that the PDP allegedly militarised the 2015 election compared to what is happening now.

According to them, ”in spite of the huge Military involvement in that election (2015), no soldier was reported shot dead by armed political thugs because the then opposition APC, unlike the then ruling PDP did not recruit and arm our youths with lethal weapons during the elections to shoot at sight anyone who tried to stop them from snatching election materials.”

They added that in 2015, ”armed militants recruited by PDP, openly enjoyed the protection of the police and military terrorized and chased away both opponents and voters into hiding, hijacked sensitive election materials, wrote millions of ghost votes for themselves” got the INEC to declare PDP winner.

They continued: ”Comparatively in the 2019 elections, the APC controls the Federal Government, PDP is in opposition. The roles reversed. Military involved also in the elections but this time more as a repelling force against the activities of armed political thugs, to create the enabling environment for citizens to vote than as a participant in the elections.

”At least four military personnel were shot dead and two lying in critical conditions in various parts of the state including Abonnema, Khana, Obio Akpor by thugs with illegal arms procured for then by the political actors.”

Questions for INEC

Ahead of the resumption of electoral activities, the APC leaders asked if it was possible to have election results in 17 local councils since the INEC said it’s reasons for suspending the polls were widespread violence and disruption of the electoral process across the 23 local councils. ”How could the electoral process have overcome the purported massive violence and disruption to produce over 70 per cent return of results from the field?”

https://newlive.vanguardngr.com/2019/03/kano-supplementary-elections-cislac-condemns-alleged-sabotage-police-inefficiency/

Alleging that the PDP and INEC were colluding, the APC leaders claimed that in 15 of the 23 local councils most of the ad-hoc staff were PDP members. ”Knowing what we all know about the INEC -Wike joint venture, can anyone in good conscience hold the view that if indeed the incoming results were in favour of the incumbent PDP candidate, this INEC team would have stampeded the INEC headquarters into the suspension decision using the clearly false alarm of widespread violence as they did? Rather they would rush to announce the results instead of holding back the results for weeks with the high probability of releasing them contaminated,” they added.

Indeed, a chieftain of the APC, Mr. Ibinabo Green, who hails from Obio-Akpor, said with the backing of the APC, the AAC candidate was trouncing Wike at the poll before it was suspended by the INEC.

His words: ”Governor Wike stated that ‘the AAC candidate is a nobody and therefore cannot win the Rivers State election.’ Wike forgets that AAC was adopted by APC, and APC put its complete strength and weight behind AAC.

”As the polls rose in favour of the AAC candidate, to the shock and dismay of Wike, INEC in collaboration with Governor Wike resorted to suspending the collation of results. This sudden suspension as intended gave rise to fraudulent malpractices and the falsification of results.

”However, seven LGA’s had already collated and announced results that frightened the governor. Wike claims that the military disrupted the elections. This is purely the statement of a sore loser. He should be commending the military like the rest of Rivers State for maintaining the peace and keeping the casualties of elections in Rivers State at its barest minimum compared to 2015.

”Wike and INEC claim that collation is underway and results will be released accordingly. This begs the questions: On the day collation was unlawfully suspended, which INEC staff/officials stayed back to gather results and materials? Exactly which results are being collated now? Which party agents are present during this so-called collation? Which security agencies are securing this process? Where exactly is this so-called collation taking place?’

DEFECTION TO PDP: You yielded to stomach infrastructure, APC tells Yeeh

The APC alleged that Monday’s defection, by Akpo Bomba Yeah, Rivers African Action Congress, AAC, deputy governorship candidate, to the Peoples Democratic Candidate, PDP, was in sheer response to financial inducement.

Spokesman of Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi’s faction of Rivers APC, Chris Finebone, in a statement also said Akpo lied about the scathing allegations against the minister, in the public declaration of his defection and withdrawal as running mate to AAC’s candidate, Biokpomabo Awara.

Fine bone said: “We (APC) are not surprised at the news that the Deputy Governorship candidate of the AAC has resigned membership of his party to join (Governor Nyesom) Wike…We are only reacting to his decision because we adopted his principal, AAC’s governorship candidate, Awara and the fact that Mr Akpo for want of justification for his action is struggling to lie about the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.

“Even the retarded of the house knows Mr. Akpo simply responded to demands of his sedimentary canal, which many now referred to as stomach infrastructure…We wish him well, but only want to inform Mr. Akpo that even as he struggled to read from a script written by others, that in the few days he came close, he had no opportunity to know or associate with the Minister, as to be in a position to say what he’s claiming.”

Among other allegations, Akpo in the declaration of his withdrawal from the AAC, had accused Amaechi of boasting that he had perfected plans, including engagement of the military to rig AAC to victory in the 2019 governorship while also forcing him (Akpo) to sign an undertaken to, upon swearing in, resign his position as deputy governor.