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… Protest Rocks Port Harcourt over INEC’s Suspension of Process
By Joel Anekwe
The governorship candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in Rivers State, Awara Biokpomabo has demanded the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare him winner of the March 9, governorship election in the state.
He also demanded that INEC should accept the result of 15 out of 23 local government areas he claimed was already collated and which he said he won and places him in good position to win the election.
Speaking to journalists at a press conference in Port Harcourt on Monday in reaction to the suspension of the election process in Rivers State the AAC governorship flag bearer also demanded that resident electoral commissioner (REC) for Rivers State, Oboh Effanga should be immediately redeployed for gross incompetence.
“The said state resident electoral commissioner has not been able to conclude any election in Rivers State since he took over the office. The PHALGA Constituency 111 State Assembly election is a case in point,” he insisted.
He called on INEC to accept the results already declared at the 15 local government collation centres saying: “some of the unit results announced at the polling units in the Local Government were collations were not concluded clearly before the suspension of the processes show that I won over 15 Local Government Areas.
“The INEC pleaded insecurity, violence, seizure of electoral materials by hoodlums etc. as the reasons for suspending the remaining stages of the Election. I reject the reason given by INEC. This because in the Local Government Areas that were affected, voting had concluded, results declared at the polling units and collation had begun before the abrupt suspension of the process. The Commission does not have the power under our Electoral Act to suspend elections that has already been concluded”.
He then claimed that part of the reason why INEC suspended the process was “to give respite to candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who was trailing behind, frustrate my victory. My party went into these elections against an umpire dangerously skewed in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“The resident electoral commission, all the electoral officers, assistant electoral officers, heads of department in the rivers offices of the commission were all working for the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party. No wonder when they saw that I was leading and would eventually win the election, they raised a false alarm to the Headquarter of the Commission and misinformed them that there was widespread violence and seizure of electoral materials”.
Meanwhile some civil society organisations also on Monday staged a protest in Port Harcourt against the delay by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to release the result of the last Saturday’s Governorship and state house of assemble elections.
The protest was led by three civil society groups in the state, the “International Society for Social Justice and Human Right, “Advocate for Peace” and “Electoral Right Defence and Education Network”.
The protesters accused the INEC state resident electoral commissioner (REC), Oboh Effanga of bias and called on the national chairman of the commission, Mamoud Yakubu to order him (Effanga) to announce the results of the polls so far collated to ease the tension already mounting in the state.
The protesters who numbered several thousands, dressed in white and chanted Wike Must Go songs. They praised the military for providing good security services to the state at the elections and regretted some of the violent incidents witnessed during the elections.
Addressing the protesters before the military men at the blockade at the GRA junction yesterday, the leader of the groups, Dr. Omenazu Jackson blamed the spate of violent killings in the state on poor governance and hash leadership in the state, which he insisted must stop.
Omenazu said, “Our people are not animal, killing is not one of the traits of an average Rivers man, our lifestyle does not include maiming, killing and burning of houses. An average Rivers man who has Rivers blood is a peaceful person.
“We want to use this opportunity to tell the world that today, our military men are being killed, our police officers are being abducted and killed, this has given this state negative publicity, we are appealing that these things should stop.
“On the conduct of elections, it is against the electoral law and the Nigerian constitution that peoples’ votes are not announced after casting their votes.
“On that premise, the right of the people of this state to know who their next governor is has been infringed upon by INEC and we are saying that INEC should please as a matter of urgency and for the sake of peace of this state, release the result of the election of the election, so far collated.
We have seen and observed that the present INEC leadership is partisan, and when an umpire becomes partisan, then it is dangerous signal against to the entire society.” he said.
