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By Ebube Egbufor
A one-time community development chairman in Eneka Town, Obio/Akpor local government area of Rivers State, Amb. Charles Woko has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to cancel “any results gotten from Unit 11, Ward 14 Obio/Akpor sited at Rumuowha Playground,” Eneka over alleged hijacking of the presidential ballot papers during Saturday’s polls.
Amb. Woko claimed that one Mr. Kinikanwo Owhor an agent of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, hijacked the presidential ballot papers to prevent voters from casting their votes for candidates of their choice.
“That’s unacceptable by the generality of the people. It is unheard of and we are calling on him to provide the ballot papers and also the INEC to cancel any results from that unit because no one can manipulate Nigerians again”, he said.
According to him, people should be allowed to vote the candidates of their choice and elect the candidate that would help move Nigeria forward.
On the allegation that the said PDP agent was acting on the orders of the Rivers State government led by Governor Nyesom Wike, the community leader said he does not know whose directive he was following, but that the ballot papers should be provided for any results from that polling unit to count.
When our correspondent visited the polling unit (Unit 11, Ward 14), she met angry voters who complained that as at about 1pm, they had not been accredited.
A voter who spoke on the condition of anonymity said they only saw the ballot papers for the National Assembly elections but had not seen that of the presidential.
She said reliable sources claimed all the ballot papers were provided by INEC for the elections but that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) agents connived and hid the presidential ballot papers.
“They are hiding the ballot papers. They gave them to the PDP person. They are conniving with the PDP and APC agents, they don’t want people to vote for the presidential candidate of their choice and we voters said we are not going to vote until they provide the presidential ballot papers,” she said.
At about 4.30 pm when our correspondent visited the polling unit again, the presidential ballot papers were yet to be provided by the electoral officials and the voters “vowed not to vote or leave the place until the papers are made available.”
As at the time filing this report, our source claimed that “no election took place in the unit as voters angrily went home.”
In the meantime, a neighbouring polling unit, Unit 12, Karaka Hall, Rumuowha was peaceful. Though the electoral officers arrived late, at about 10 am, both the accreditation and voting proper were hitch free.
At another polling unit in the same Rumuowha, Eneka, Unit 55 at an open space along Swiss Avenue, elections finished before 4 pm.
