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TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt
The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Rivers State, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to disregard the calls by pro-All Progressives Congress elders in the state to intervene in the governorship election result collation of Rivers.
IPAC said it was shocked and embarrassed by calls by some compromised pro-APC elders with a view to subverting the will of Rivers people.
Members of the group made the call when they briefed journalists in Port Harcourt, on the heels of an alleged letter written by the “compromised pro-APC elders to President Buhari to halt the electoral process in the state.”
The Accord Party governorship candidate, Precious Baridoo, who read the press statement on behalf of IPAC, accused the APC of attempting to use the interference to create an atmosphere to truncate the work of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
IPAC described the calls as devilish and an affront on Rivers people who voted for Governor Nyesom Wike overwhelmingly on March 9 governorship elections, reiterating its stand that the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), won the election.
Baridoo read: “We have information that these pro-APC elders have written to the president demanding that he should intervene in the Rivers State governorship election collation process, halt same and create an atmosphere to disable INEC from concluding the elections in the state.
“IPAC Rivers State views the letter of these elders to the president as devilish, wicked and an affront to the good people of Rivers State who overwhelmingly voted for the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, of the PDP on March 9, 2019.
“It is unfortunate that these pro-APC elders would allow themselves to be used by a minister who is bent on imposing his stooge on Rivers State as governor.
“As elders and stakeholders, we expected these pro-APC elements to drop their political affiliations and face the reality of the time. We expected them to embrace the choice of Rivers people, rather than dance to the satanic tunes of the minister.
“These pro-APC elders cannot claim ignorance of the negative roles played by the Nigerian Army as they attempted to subvert the will of Rivers people during the governorship and state Assembly elections,” IPAC said.
The group noted that INEC fact-finding committee had acknowledged that elections took place in the majority of the polling units of Rivers State; collation of results and declarations had already been made in the majority of the state constituencies and the PDP won in the areas.
“This was in spite of the failed attempt of the AAC/APC alliance to use the army and F-SARS to subvert the will of Rivers people. It was a horrible and disgraceful sight to see Nigerian Army personnel captured on video in different local government collation centres, including Ogo/Bolo, Okrika, Port Harcourt, Khana, Eleme and Akuku-Toru, marauding and attempting to snatch collated results. The most despicable of which was the invasion of the state governorship collation centre by the army on March 10, 2019, which was broadcast on national television to the entire world.
“Instead of condemning the unnecessary militarisation in a democracy and the manifest use of violence by the army in the state during the elections in our dear state, the pro-APC elders chose to exhibit selective amnesia.
“We call on Mr. President to disregard the calls by these pro-APC elders to transfer the INEC officials that conducted the elections in Rivers State. IPAC Rivers State further calls on the president not to take any step that will jeopardise the collation and declaration of governorship election results in Rivers State. We have confidence in the INEC Rivers State and they should be allowed to complete the process.
“Rivers people have voted for their governor and they have voted for their state lawmakers. A few misguided old men cannot subvert the will of Rivers people,” IPAC stressed.
