Edo Gov’ship election rigging exposes Amaechi, Abe, APC plan for Rivers re-run election

The Chairman of the Rivers State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Bro Felix Obuah has described as most disappointing and an abuse of the democratic process what he termed the grand conspiracy between the All Progressives Congress, APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to upturn the mandate of the Edo people in the just concluded governorship election in the State in favour of the APC.

The State PDP Chairman said this in reaction to the results as announced by the INEC which he said do not reflect the decision of the people of Edo State.

“The broad-day robbery in Edo,” Bro Obuah noted, “has evidently exposed the APC’s new election rigging strategy which appears to be working out for them but will definitely fail in Rivers State.”

The State PDP Chairman observed with regret that it was for the same purpose that the remaining legislative re-run elections scheduled for Saturday, July 30, 2016 in Rivers state were abruptly put off by INEC to enable the APC perfect their new system of rigging which is consolidated at the final collation centre through compromised INEC officials and security agents.

The PDP, he said, is fully aware of the plot and has consistently raised alarm over frequent visits and too close for comfort relationship between the Rivers South-East APC Senatorial Candidate, Magnus Abe, his benefactor, Chibuike Amaechi and the INEC leaders in Abuja as well as various security high commands of the Police, Army and DSS.

“But unlike INEC’s dismal outing in Edo State, we do hope that such inciting and crisis inducing attempts by the APC and its agents and hatchet men within the electoral body and security agencies will not contemplate experimenting the Edo saga in Rivers State as that will be vehemently resisted.

All that we stand for to help our democratic process succeed are free and fair elections where the winner will transparently be seen to have won and the loser convinced of his loss.

Anything short of that will definitely amount to an affront to the people of the State”, Bro Obuah Declared.

Not satisfied with the so-called results of the September 28, 2016, Gubernatorial Election in Edo State, as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the Chairman, PDP, in Rivers State, Bro Felix Obuah said the outcome of the exercise was predetermined by the Commission in sleek alliance with the All Progressives Congress, APC.

The PDP Chairman explained that from the process leading to the conduct of the election, the manner security agencies were used in aiding the fraudulent activities by members of the APC, the quick announcement of the cooked up results by the Electoral Commission, which is a novelty in the life of the present INEC, as well as the speed by President Buhari congratulated the declared winner, Mr Obaseki, the first of its kind by the President showed that the electoral process was compromised.

“We sympathize with the Edo people whose mandate has been misappropriated in an APC controlled government devoid of democratic ideals and practice. It is unfortunate that the true democracy Nigerians yearned for has now been denied and not allowed to succeed.

Even though it is not yet uhuru for the APC and its combined forces, as we believe the PDP Standard Bearer, Pastor Ize-Iyamu Osagie and the good people of Edo will explore every available legal means in seeking justice, by challenging the fraudulent outcome of the charade called election by the INEC, it is to us a useful development, as it apparently exposes the strategies and options contemplated to be applied by the APC, the INEC and some security agents in Rivers re-run elections expected to be held in the coming weeks”, the State PDP Chairman noted.