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Romanus Ugwu, Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja, Paul Orude Bauchi and Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed April 2 and 5 for the continuation of collation of governorship election in Rivers State.
Addressing newsmen at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja, National Commissioner and chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said certain activities like engagement with security agencies, other stakeholders, issuance of guidelines on the resumption of collation of results and revalidation of polling agents and observers for collation of results will precede the collation of the results in Rivers.
On resumption of electoral process in Rivers State, the commission said: “Following the violent disruption of the electoral process in Rivers during the governorship and state Assembly elections on March 9 and 10, 2019, the Commission was compelled to suspend the process.
“The Commission set up a fact-finding committee that visited Rivers State and submitted its report, which revealed that while election could not hold in a few areas, it was successfully concluded in others with the declaration of winners in 21 state constituencies. Collation was ongoing at the time of the suspension of the process. The collation will hold between April 2 and 5, 2019. Supplementary election if any, April 13, announcement of results of all supplementary elections, April 13 to 15, issuance of certificate of returns, latest April 19,” the commission announced.
“Certificates of Return in respect of governors-elect shall be presented by supervising National Commissioners of the respective states between Wednesday and Friday March 27 and 29, 2019. They will be assisted by Resident Electoral Commissioners and Legal Officers of the Commission.
“The precise date for the presentation in each state shall be made known by the respective Resident Electoral Commissioners after consultation with the supervising National Commissioners. For the State Houses of Assembly, the date of presentation of Certificates of Return to the respective winners will be announced in due course.”
He said supplementary elections will hold in 18 states of the federation on March 23, 2019.
“The Commission encourages all registered voters in the areas where elections will be conducted to come out and cast their ballots. We also appeal to all stakeholders for continuous support.”
According to him, all observers and the media accredited by the Commission to cover the 2019 general elections are free to observe the elections. They will have unimpeded access to the material distribution centres, polling units and collation centres, he stated.
Arising from the meeting held on March 19, 2019 between INEC and security agencies, the latter had given the assurances of adequate security, professional conduct and unimpeded access to all levels of the election and collation centres.
The commission equally disclosed that it would obey any court ruling on its refusal to issue certificate of return to the governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, for forcing the returning officer to declare him winner of the Imo West senatorial district.
Meanwhile, PDP has alleged a plot by INEC and security agencies to hijack the March 23 governorship supplementary polls in Adamawa, Benue, Sokoto, Plateau, Bauchi and Kano states.
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, who made the allegation at a press briefing in Abuja, yesterday, said the plot was hatched at a recent security meeting.
Regardless, Ologbondiyan said the opposition party’s victory in the affected states is inevitable, stating that the states remain PDP strongholds.
He stated that the Presidency should know that Nigerians will not be intimidated, as they are ready to confront any attempt to subvert their will at the supplementary polls.
According to him, “the PDP has full information on every move by the APC to manipulate the electoral process , as not all Nigerians in their government subscribe to their cruelty, resort to violence as well as suppression of votes.
“Our party is informed of how a top Army officer, at the meeting, directed the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, not to ever declare Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike winner of the Rivers governorship election, even when it is clear to all that he won the election.
“We also have details of how a top military officer, who is from Bauchi State, at the meeting directed INEC Chairman not to declare Sen. Bala Mohammed winner of the Bauchi State governorship election.
“The PDP is also privy to how a director of one of our security agencies, who was at the meeting, undertook to use his agency to deliver Kano State to the APC.
“Consequent upon this ignoble plot, the security meeting has directed the deployment of 30 DSS personnel and 300 mobile policemen to each of the states where supplementary elections have been scheduled with a standing instruction to take over the respective states and make effort to ambush the process, seeing that the PDP is bound to win.”
The opposition spokesman added that Nigerians will not hesitate to “treat individuals in military uniform, who get illegally involved in the supplementary election, as fake soldiers, especially as the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, had said that some of the soldiers, who played uncomplimentary roles in the February 23 presidential poll were fake.
Less than 48 hours to the scheduled rerun in Bauchi State, the PDP has threatened to go to court to stop the exercise.
Party Chairman, Hamza Akuyam, who disclosed at the end of a stakeholders’ meeting at the Prof. Mahmood Yakubu Conference Hall, INEC Headquarters, Bauchi, yesterday, dismissed the rerun election as a “sham” wondering why a re-run would be held despite a pending case in court.
He vowed that the party will use legal means to stop the process.
According to him: “What we are asking INEC is that this election is for what? Somebody said that the gap between the leading candidate and the second is not much, how many votes is it?”
