A group, Niger Delta Volunteer Congress, has accused the Rivers state Governor, Nyesom Wike and what it described as his allies in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of causing the uncertainty in the state following their alleged plot to rig the Guber election in the state.

The group said it came to this conclusion after it had a thorough deliberation with stakeholders in an emergency meeting on Wednesday March 20, 2019.

The Niger Delta group made the reservation in a statement jointly signed by James Goodluck and King- James Egule, its President and Secretary General.

INEC, had on March 10 , suspended all electoral processes in Rivers having determined that there was widespread disruption of collation of results of the elections conducted in the state on March 9.

But the group alleged that “Governor Wike was allegedly behind the plot to jeopardise the exercise, going as far as sponsoring propaganda against the Nigerian Army.”

It said, “despite these falsehood, the gallant troops have continued to earn wave reviews for its uncompromising role to ensure that the riggers didn’t enjoy another fun exercise.

“The military showed courage amidst pressure from the opposition and some sold-out foreign diplomats.”

As part of its deliberation, the group echoed the “stabilizing role played by the Nigerian Military during the elections as the deployment of troops was crucial to the fewer incidents of violence that were recorded during the exercise relative to the heightened sense of imminent region-wide violence that had been anticipated”.

The group further revealed that if not for the military, thugs and hoodlums in military uniforms would have caused mayhem at collation centres and other venues of electoral activities.

“It was noted that the development in Rivers State, owing to its sensitive and volatile nature, requires increased security and military presence to deter the violent thugs that are bent on sabotaging the electoral process to favour those that recruited them for such purposes,” the statement said.

“INEC’s misrepresentation of the vital role played by the military could however jeopardize its ability and that of other security agencies to provide protection to Nigerians during the remaining exercise.

“The meeting was of the view that INEC must, within the limitations imposed by ongoing litigations and court pronouncements, immediately conclude the election in River State, and any other place with outstanding elections in the Niger Delta, in order to ease the tension that its poor handling of the process has created.

Niger Delta Volunteer Congress faulted what it described as “the failure of INEC to hold its staff to account after it emerged that many of them, including those in senior positions, were compromised and were working for specific candidates and political parties in violation of the neutrality expected of them.”

The group, however, advised the military to prosecute anyone indicted as deterrent against the repeat of such act.

It further opined that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) should investigate the accused INEC Staff.

“The Federal Government should direct INEC to apologize to the military for wrongly indicting it for the crime committed by hired political thugs in fake military uniform.

“The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) should investigate the INEC Staff that took part in the elections in Rivers State, policemen, military personnel and all other actors with a view to identifying the compromised ones among them and to diligently prosecute anyone indicted.

“INEC must immediately act in accordance with its own guidelines and extant legislation to bring closure to the situation it has created in Rivers State.”

The meeting ended with an agreement to give wide publicity to the recommendations made while appealing to the people of Niger-Delta to remain law abiding.