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Joel Anaekwe
Rivers State governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has drawn the attention of the international community to what he called the latest rigging system hatched by the ruling APC wherein they use the Police to concoct electoral results in collusion with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Wike who is ruing the loss of the Rivers East Senatorial District seat to the APC through the courts warned that the action of the Police, the APC portend grave danger to the nation’s democracy.
Receiving Mr Paul Lehmann, High Commissioner of Australia to Nigeria, in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, Governor Wike informed the international community that his administration would not allow the rigging of future elections through the new scheme adopted by Police, INEC and the APC.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja last week upheld the decision of the election tribunal verdict that sacked Senator George Sekibo as the duly elected senator representing Rivers East Senatorial District.
Governor Woke faulted the court’s decision arguing that it was wrong for them to arrive at that decision based on the premise of results certified and tendered by the Police at the Election Tribunal.
“We are happy that we have been vindicated. INEC printed their own result sheets with their serial numbers. These other people went and printed result sheets with the same serial numbers. The issue is how did they know the serial numbers?
“When the election took place, INEC declared PDP as winner. INEC now colluded with the Police and police now came to the tribunal and tendered the concocted results they printed “, Governor Wike said.
The governor said that the Election Tribunal attached probative value on the documents tendered by the Police, as against that of INEC, even when INEC has the constitutional responsibility to conduct elections and declare results.
He declared: “Having known this, are we going to fold our arms and allow same thing to happen again now that we have discovered that this is their new strategy. That they will collude with the police to write results and they will go the tribunal to tender such results. We will resist”.
Governor Wike urged Australian investors to take advantage of the state’s agricultural potentials as his administration has created the right business climate.
He said: “Aside from oil and gas, Rivers State has several other potentials. We want investors to invest in the area of agriculture. We will give tax holidays for investors to come to the state”
Earlier, the Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Paul Lehmann said his visit is a mission in economic diplomacy.
He said that the Australian government would want to develop a beneficial relationship with the Rivers State Government.
