The Rivers State PDP Campaign Council has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to use the case of Rivers State elections to assert her independence and not allow the military and FSARS to usurp her functions.
The State PDP Campaign Council made this call yesterday in a press statement issued by the Director of Information and Communications, Barr Emma Okah.
According to Okah, the INEC needs to be bold and independent and call the bluff of the defaulting security agencies and their collaborators in the APC who are bent on dragging the name of the commission in the mud.
“The integrity of the electoral process is the hallmark of democracy and development and if people can no longer trust the umpire, all the talks about civil rule is like blowing hot air,” Okah said, pointing out that time has come for Nigerians to review the role of the military in our elections.
Okah said a situation where security agencies determine the measure of INEC’s succeess in elections which are purely civil exercises spells doom for the nation and called for a rethink.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, says it is shocked at the reasons given by the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, justifying the killing of scores of Rivers people by the APC hired military and FSARS during the Presidential, National Assembly and Governorship and State Assembly elections respectively.
A statement by the State Chairman of the PDP, Bro Felix Obuah through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Jerry Needam said when PDP first raised alarm over the sinister plot by the APC to visit mayhem on the State if they were omitted on the ballot as witnessed during the Presidential and National Assembly elections, many did not believe it.
We’ve however been vindicated, the statement further noted, given the admission of one Chris Fynebone who still claims to be the spokesman of APC despite the supreme court judgement stripping him of all paraphernalia of office of the APC in the State that the onslaught unleashed on the hapless innocent Rivers people was a revenge of alleged killings in 2015 that saw the APC at the receiving end.
The State PDP boss said any other foolishness could be forgiven but for one to rejoice and celebrate the massive killing of his kith and kin to say the least, is the height of stupidity, describing Mr. Fynebone’s perception and justification of the killing of over fifty Rivers sons and daughters in Abonnema, over 10 in Ogoniland, about five in Andoni and scores of others elsewhere in the State as a useless life which in itself is early death.
“We are even shocked the more that Mr Fynebone in his passion to access power to legitimately showcase the animal in him but God forbid, boasted that he and his paymasters in the APC are satisfied with the 2019 general election killings in Rivers State” Bro Obuah regretted.
The State PDP Chairman was however quick to remind Mr Fynebone that passions whether for power or any other thing else are like fire, useful in a thousand ways and dangerous only in one through their excesses.
Bro. Obuah appealed to Rivers people to continue to trust in God who sees beyond the superficial and remains the final arbiter, and discountenance the misleading and many lies of the APC in an attempt to justify the massacre of ‘Our People’ as though they were mere animals.
The PDP he said, is rooted in God and service to the people and God willing, ‘though they gather and conspire’ but in vain they do so, reassuring that in the end the PDP will have the last laugh to God’s glory.
However, the Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has just uncovered a grave plot by the chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and two other political parties to deceive and tele-guide the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) fact-finding committee in the state with concocted and false election results supposedly obtained in the 23 local government areas of the state.
The PDP, in a statement, said the APC leaders in the state have also planned to coerce INEC officials that supervised the Governorship and State Assembly elections on Saturday, March 9, to admit the concocted results as authentic.
The fake results, the statement added, are to be presented to the fact-finding committee through FSARS Commander in the state, ACP Akin Fakorede, who right from the outset spearheaded the onslaught in Rivers State for the APC chieftains in the state.
The statement warned of the impending danger, if the perpetrators of the nefarious acts, do not refrain from their evil plot which was capable of causing crisis in the state as the PDP, and indeed, the masses of Rivers people will not accept any results other than the undistorted one that emanated from the March 9 Governorship and State Assembly elections.
The statement, however, thanked Governor Nyesom Wike for the peaceful disposition displayed to ensure that the state remains calm and peaceful.
“We urge and believe the INEC and the fact-finding committee will remain firm on what is right and save Rivers State from the turmoil being orchestrated by one man’s inordinate ambition to continue to rule the State through proxy.
“The Federal Government, all well-meaning Nigerians, the media, civil society organizations and the international community should please take note, and warn those unrepentant anti-democratic elements fomenting trouble in the state, and hold them responsible for any breach of the law and order their plot to concoct the governorship election results in the state may cause,” the statement stressed.
In a further development, the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare all verifiable results of the Rivers State Governorship Election of March 9, 2019, on units and ward basis.
The Rivers traditional rulers stated that only compromised results should be discountenanced.
The traditional rulers made their position known in a press conference addressed by their Chairman, the Amayanabo of Opobo, King Dandeson Douglas-Jaja.
“We urge INEC to declare all verifiable results and immediately look into only compromised results on units and wards basis, where boxes were snatched by thugs or military personnel.
“We cannot go through round of elections at a later date. INEC must ensure that collated results are declared and not tampered with by third parties”.
They expressed disappointment with the alleged involvement of the military and SARS personnel in the direct process of the 2019 elections in Rivers State.
They said: “What we have today is a few government appointees using federal apparatus, including men in uniform to cause chaos and breakdown of law and order.
“Our people who have attempted to resist such illegality have either been arrested or dealt with extra judicially”.
They regretted that Rivers communities have been militarised, with innocent people harassed, arrested and detained.
“We are sad to note that in many kingdoms and communities, the uniformed or military men were actively involved in giving cover to politicians and their thugs who are carting ballot boxes and result sheets.
“There are also allegations that some of these uniformed personnel are ‘fake soldiers’ but the real soldiers have not arrested any of the so-called fake soldiers involved in these dastardly acts.
“The Army has also come out on AIT today, 11th March, 2019, to state that the people in Army uniforms are fake. So, why are they not being arrested, if they are thugs in military uniforms”, they queried.
They described as deafening the silence of the National Peace Committee headed by General Abdulsalami Abubakar, and wondered why the committee has failed to call all parties and the military to order for breaching the peace.
They said that parties cannot be asked to accept results of elections that are brazenly rigged, manipulated and falsified in an atmosphere of Intimidation and violence.
“Last time we checked, the President and Commander-in-Chief has not given any such order, neither has the Chief of Army Staff or Chief of Air Staff ordered the full participation of the military in the electoral process in our various kingdoms.
“So, who has deployed the military, Army and Air Force in this number, even assaulting officials of INEC and taking over of premises when they were not invited by INEC”, the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers noted.
They wondered how come the military took over the Rivers State INEC Headquarters and even fought the police and attempted hijacking results from local government areas.
“We need peace in Rivers State. The people’s will must prevail. The military must remove itself from directly participating in our elections.
“The Nigerian Army must immediately identify and arrest the so-called political thugs in military uniforms”, they said.
The traditional rulers said that politicians who collaborated with the military or thugs in military uniforms would be cursed traditionally.
They called on the Federal Government and the international community to come to the aid of Rivers people.