APC rejects gov’ship, state assembly election results in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Delta states

By Reporters
The All Progressives Congress (APC), in Akwa Ibom on Monday rejected the outcome of last Saturday’s Gubernatorial and House of Assembly polls released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state, alleging that the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr Mike Igini had been compromised heavily by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the state government.

State Chairman of APC, Mr Ini Okopido said this while expressing the party’s position to newsmen, on the conduct of the elections stating that, the results announced by the commission were fictitious and different from the ones turned in by the party agents from units.

“Our party has rejected the sham and fictitious results as announced by INEC in the state.

“We rather insist on the results of the elections from the field which gave our party an overwhelming victory in 26 out of 31 Local Government Areas of the state recalling that, “We had told the world before the polls that, INEC in Akwa Ibom had no credibility and integrity to deliver free, fair and credible elections to the people of our state,” Okopido said.

He accused the Commission of what he described as “electoral coup” after allegedly colluding with the PDP to rig the elections.

Mr Okopido added that, “The INEC Commissioner, Mr Mike Igini in collusion with the PDP committed an electoral coup against the people of Akwa Ibom by publishing and announcing results that have no bearing with the results as counted and announced at various units in the state’’ and cited multiple voting, vote buying, violence, arson, killings, manipulation of the electoral process and ballot box snatching as some of the unwholesome practices that characterized the election.

Also condemning the results were; the APC State Caucus Chairman, Chief Don Etiebet, Senior Special Adviser to the President (Senate) and Director-General, APC State Campaign Council, Senator Ita Enang and the State Party Agent, Bishop Samuel Akpan amongst others.

 

They corroborated the State party Chairman saying that, the results announced by INEC in Akwa Ibom were biased and against APC noting also that, they had expressed lack of confidence in the electoral umpire, INEC, for manifestly being corrupt, for unashamedly hobnobbing with the PDP and for being an appendage of the Akwa Ibom State Government in the conduct of the exercise.

While thanking the APC members, supporters and agents at various levels for their steadfastness they noted that ‘‘our firm resolve and undertaking is that, we shall retrieve the victory they gave to the APC through every legitimate means.”

The PDP, according to the polls results released by INEC in Uyo on Sunday, swept 30 out of 31 Local Government Areas of the state with 519, 712 votes but, was reluctant to name the remaining one Local Government won by APC with 171, 978 votes.

However, the REC, Mr Mike Igini has denied all the allegations levelled against him by the APC.

According to him, ‘‘INEC conducted a fair, credible and free election in the state.

“As a Commission, we have no vote to give to anybody and the will of the people is expressed through ballot and is what determines who becomes who.

Also, the APC in Cross River and Delta states, have rejected results of Saturday’s Governorship and State House of Assembly elections announced by INEC in their states.

The acting Chairman of the party in Cross River, Mr John Ochala, in a statement on Monday, said:

“We dissociate ourselves from this `rape on our democracy’ in the name of governorship and house of assembly elections.”
Ochala assured members of APC in the state that its leadership would seek legal means to redress the situation.

He, therefore, urged them to remain calm.
INEC had on Monday, declared the incumbent governor, Benedict Ayade of the PDP as the winner of Saturday’s election.
According to INEC, Ayade polled 381,484 votes as against 131,161 polled by Sen. John Owan-Enoh, the governorship candidate of APC.

Similarly, the leadership of APC in Delta has called for outright cancellation of the governorship and state assembly elections.

The Chairman of APC in Delta, Mr Jones Erue, who made this known in Warri on Monday, said that the party would approach the Election Petition Tribunal should the electoral umpire refuse to cancel the elections.

He said that the elections were marred by a lot of irregularities across the 25 local government areas of the state with the aid of security operatives.

“You all witnessed an electoral process where soldiers aided thugs to hijack ballot boxes and materials in collaboration with the presiding officers and thumb print them for a particular party.

“Our people were not allowed to enter any collation centres; our agents were treated as enemies of the electoral process.

“The whole place was militarised and results were changed at will.

“For example, at Emede Ward 5 unit 2 in Isoko South soldiers aided the destruction of that unit at about 10:00 a.m. Ballot boxes and ballot papers were carted away.

“Our members were brutalised and presiding officers collaborated with PDP to undo us.

“In Warri South and Warri South-West most of the materials did not get to their units.

“We are, therefore, rejecting the result and also call on INEC to cancel the election and failure to do that, we will approach the Tribunal to get our mandate,’’ he said.

Prof. Serth Jaja, the Collation Officer in Delta had on Monday declared Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa as winner of the governorship election in the state.

According to Jaja, Okowa polled a total of 925,274 to defeat Great Ogboru of the APC who scored 215,938 votes in the contest.

Responding, the Spokesman of the 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, Col. Aminu Ilyasu, said that APC’s allegations were baseless.

“People see security agencies as an instrument of the state that can be used by the ruling party.

“The opposition parties will bash the security agencies, the ruling party will also bash the security agencies.

“The elections are over; if he is not satisfied, he should go the Election Petition Tribunal,” he said.