By Egufe Yafugborhi & Davies Iheamnachor, Port Harcourt

THE governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State, Mr. Tonye Cole, has lamented that democracy, as practised in the state, was a huge disgrace.

Cole spoke in Port Harcourt, yesterday, after thugs alleged to be supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, attacked him, the Chairman of the APC, Chief Emeka Beke, and other leaders of the party in the state.

The APC leaders and its guber candidate were en route Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC office, on Port Harcourt-Aba expressway to obtain Certified True Copies of documents used by INEC in the conduct and declaration of the just concluded governorship and state House of Assembly election results in the state.

But, on arrival at the GRA Junction of the expressway, hundreds of PDP supporters, who were on a protest demanding that INEC’s CTC documents should also be given to the PDP stopped the APC leaders.

The rampaging supporters attacked Cole, Beke and others chasing them into the Government Reserved Area under gunfire.

Journalists, who were in the INEC’s office and those arriving the area to cover the event were trapped in the deafening gunshots. 

Speaking at the APC state secretariat, Cole said they were stopped by the thugs and beaten up, alleging that police provided secuity for the thugs to operate.

Cole, who described democracy in the state under Governor Nyesom Wike as a sham, said the move by PDP members was a calculated attempt to stop APC from approaching the court to seek redress against injustice done during the March 18 elections.

Cole narrates exprience after attack

He said: “INEC has number of days to release documents to us and we have 21 days for us to file our petitions. Forteen days after the election, today is the 16th day after the declaration but INEC has not released any single document to us.

“On Friday, we went to INEC office and we met only junior officers there. When we got there, we asked them, they said we should come back today (yesterday) that we will receive our documents.

“This morning (yesterday), while we were going, we met a large number of boys and girls outside the INEC office, who said they were PDP members and that nobody will come here except them. They said I should go back else they will embarrass me.

“I refused and they began to slap me, they grabbed my shirt and started throwing pure water at us. Before I knew it, they started throwing blocks, bottles. 

“My secuity men determined that I must come out, physically carried me out. I got a serious injury on my shoulder, three of our vehicles were destroyed. Democracy in this state is a disgrace.

“We left INEC office and came back to our party secretariat, so that we can restrategise. We saw lots of PDP thugs led by Ikwerre Local Government Chairman and the Deputy Speaker of the state House of Assembly, coming here with armed boys escorted by policemen. 

“They came and started shooting outside our party office, our policemen came and pushed them back. I came out that if they are going to kill me, that they should do it.

“We had credible information that they are going to be mobilising like this everyday till Friday and by Friday, we will be out of time.

“They are trying to prevent us from filing our documents. These are people that said they won by popularity, why are they stopping us.

“We have credible information that they hijacked this election and do not want us to go to the tribunal.”

APC seeks relocation of election tribunal to Abuja over insecurity

Meanwhile, APC state chairman has called for relocation of the election petition tribunal to Abuja, citing insecurity reason.

Beke said they had written the President of Court of Appeal to move the tribunal from Rivers State to Abuja, adding that secuity of APC lawyers was not guaranteed.

“What is the guarantee that our lawyers can have access to the tribunal? We have written to the Inspector General of Police and Commissioner of Police to provide us cover to go pick documents we need at INEC office.”