Rivers AAC candidate to INEC: declare me governor-elect

African Action Congress (AAC) Rivers State candidate in last Saturday’s governorship election Biokpomabo Awara believes he won the poll. He wants the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare him the governor-elect.

He also accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governor Nyesom Wike of compromising the hierarchy of INEC in the state.

He accused the governor of buying a house in Maitama, Abuja, for the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of INEC, Mr. Obo Effanga, and induced the Rivers Administrative Secretary of INEC, Elder Etim John, with N300 million.

But the REC said that nothing like that happened between him and the governor, describing the allegation as laughable.

The AAC candidate spoke at a news conference yesterday in Port Harcourt.

He said: “I make the following demands: That the results already declared at the local government collation centres be accepted. That INEC should declare me the winner of the March 9, 2019 governorship election in Rivers State.

“The REC of INEC in Rivers State, Mr. Obo Effanga, be immediately redeployed for gross incompetence. The REC has not been able to conclude any election in Rivers State, since his assumption of office. The Port Harcourt Constituency 3 by-election of Rivers State House of Assembly in August 2018, is a case in point.”

He said the suspension of the electoral process was to rob him of his victory, saying “my party went into these elections against an umpire dangerously skewed in favour of the PDP.”

Awara said: “INEC pleaded insecurity, violence and seizure of electoral materials by hoodlums etc., as the reasons for suspending the remaining stages of the election.”

He rejected the reasons the INEC gave for the suspension of the electoral process.

“This is because in the affected local government areas, voting had been concluded, results declared at the polling units and collation had begun, before the abrupt suspension of the process.”

He said the commission lacked the power under the Electoral Act to suspend elections that have already been concluded.

He alleged that council chairmen have been paying N1 million monthly to the Electoral Officer assigned to his local government.

Awara alleged that the INEC Administrative Secretary, Etim John, was induced the governor to influence the posting of pliable ad hoc staff.

He claimed: “To justify the financial inducement by Wike, the Administrative Secretary did not only ensure that the posting of the ad hoc staff overtly favoured the PDP, but he also got carried away to the extent that he even included the names of well-known relatives of some PDP candidates and chieftains in the list.”

He alleged that some Collation Officers were specifically posted to help the cause of the PDP. He listed them as Emohua (Dr. Peter Medee); Khana (Mr. Gbenekanu Ledornu). Ledornu  was identified as a younger brother to Dr. Barry Mpigi, the candidate of PDP for Rivers Southeast Senatorial District, who just graduated with a doctoral degree.

He accused the governor of invading the Obio/Akpor collation centre in Rumuodomaya, Port Harcourt with miscreants.

Awara noted that during Wike’s invasion of the collation centre, the two soldiers on guard duty who were shot, were still in critical condition.