Orubebe Disrupts Presidential Poll Results Collation

Minister of Aviation, Chief Osita Chidoka (left), welcoming the Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr Obafemi Olawore, Chibueze Anyafulu and Alxis Vovx of Total Nigeria Plc, to his office during the visit of a delegation of major oil marketers in Abuja, recently. Photo: NAN

The former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and the agent of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Elder Godsday Orubebe, yesterday, stirred serious drama at the International Conference Centre Abuja, venue of the collation of results for the presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), when he disrupted the continuation of the presentation of the results.
Orubebe, who held up the presentation of the results for almost 30 minutes, threatened to stop further announcement of the presidential results.
He rose and sat on the floor of the  collation centre, insisting that until the INEC chairman attended to PDP’s petition, he would not allow him to proceed with the collation process.
The former minister, in the full glare of international and local television audience threw caution to the wind when he shouted on top of his voice calling the INEC chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega several unpalatable names and accusing him of bias in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In spite of Orubebe’s attempt to halt further announcement of the results and his tirade against the INEC boss, Jega remained calm an unruffled.
Several intervention by other party and security agents to calm Orubebe down yielded no result as the former minister maintained that the  announcement of the presidential results would not continue.
Pointing his fingers at Jega, Orubebe continued, “ we don’t believe in you any more because you have compromised and until you listen to our petition, we will not continue.
“You are tribalistic, and partial, and Nigerians will not allow that, we will not take it until something is done.
Even when Jega tried to calm him down, asking to be given chance to respond to his allegations, Orubebe rebuffed him,” sitting on the platform for several minutes.
After about 30 minutes of vehement protest by the former minister, Prof Jega debunked the allegations against him, and cautioned Orubebe to be mindful of his utterances and public conduct.
Jega said, “ politicians should be careful of what they say or do at this moment; let us not disrupt a process that has started peacefully and will end in few hours”.
He said that the PDP petition was given to his Personal Assistant to give to him on his way back to his office, on Monday after the second batch of results collations had been presented, adding that he instructed his Personal Assistant to return the said petition to the owner for proper filing by the petitioners.
Jega explained further that the said PDP petition should have been submitted to the INEC’s Secretary for onward transmission to him, and not directly to him or through his Personal Assistant, stressing that the process of submission of the said petition contravened the electoral law.
“I had started collation, and I cannot start receiving petitions here on this platform. As I speak to you, I have not received any petition from the secretary of the commission, who receives all correspondence for the commission.
“With regard to results allegedly published by APC on its website, I will not give results to anybody; genuine result will be announced formally by INEC, and they are the results that are declared here.
“As far as I am concerned, I have not seen any result, and I have not given anybody any results”, Jega said.

Boye Salau