APC Calls for the Cancellation of Governorship/House of Assembly Elections in Rivers/Akwa Ibom States

The All Progressive Congress, APC, in a press conference addressed by the National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed in Lagos today has called for the cancellation of the Governorship and House of Assembly elections in Akwa Ibom and Rivers State which took place on Saturday April 11^th, 2015. 

He mentioned that the states in question, elections were not conducted in accordance with INEC guidelines and as a result of that, the APC are left with no choice than to demand for the immediate cancellation of the elections in the two states.

He gave in-depth details of what transpired in Rivers and Akwa Ibom on Saturday, and why the elections in the two states cannot stand.

RIVERS

1. It is clear that the script for the distortion of the Rivers elections was written by the Presidency and executed by the PDP, the police and militants

2. As you would recollect, our party’s chapter in Rivers had written a petition complaining of the crass partisanship of the Rivers State Commissioner of Police in the Presidential and National Assembly Elections held on the 28th of March. Because of this petition, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Suleiman Abba, posted three Commissioners of Police from the Force Headquarters to oversee the April 11th Governorship and House of Assembly Elections in Rivers State.

3. As soon as the President learnt of this development, he directed the IGP to reverse the decision and instead requested that AIG Tunde Ogunsakin be posted to oversee the April 11th Elections in Rivers State

4. As soon as electoral materials were distributed, the Divisional Police Officer for Akukutoru Local Government Area simply handed over the election materials for this local government to the militants. Upon learning of this development, AIG Ogunshakin ordered that the materials should be recovered and handed over to the Electoral Officer for the Local Government within the next hour.

5. Irked by AIG Ogunsakin’s directive, the Presidency ordered him to leave Rivers State within 6 hours and a pliant replacement was asked to take over from him.

6. From then on, unimaginative terror was unleashed on the electorate, in particular on APC members and supporters. It was a straight fight between the police, the militants and the PDP on the one hand and the APC on the other hand.

7. Contrary to the directive from INEC that Card Readers be used for the elections, the machines were discarded in Rivers. This is why the voter turnout for Rivers, as announced by INEC for Rivers, stood at more than 75%, compared with the national average of between 25 and 35%.

8. Gentlemen, because of these and other anomalies, we hereby unequivocally demand for the cancellation of the Governorship and House of Assembly elections in Rivers State.

AKWA IBOM

1. The APC fully supports the demand by its chapter in Akwa Ibom for the immediate cancellation of the Governorship and House of Assembly elections in Akwa Ibom.

2. Our position is based on the fact that elections in most parts of the state were not conducted according INEC guidelines.

3. Election materials were not supplied to most of the polling units in all the three senatorial districts.

– In former Governor Victor Attah’s ward in Ibesikpo Asutan, three contiguous polling units did not receive election materials.

– In the most of the polling units in Oruk Anam, which is the home local government area of Atuekong Etiebet and Chief Soni Udom, Director-General of the APC Governorship Campaign Organisation, most of the polling units did not receive election materials.

– Election materials were also not supplied to most polling units in Itu, Ibiono Ibom, Ikot Ekpene, Esisien Udim, Uyo, Eket, Abak, Nsit Ibom, Etinan, Esit Obolo, Ibeno, Nsit Attai, Ikono, Ini.

4. In areas where polling materials were received, hordes of deadly armed thugs, escorted by men in Nigeria Police and Army uniforms, stormed the polling units and carted away the election materials midway into the accreditation process.

– For instance in Ndiya ward 3, unit 004 in Nsit Ubium, which happens to be the polling unit of our governorship candidate, election materials were supplied but thugs led by the Special Assistant to the Governor on Security, retired Capt. Iniobong Ekong, invaded the place and took away all the election materials. The thugs were later traced to the house of Capt. Ekong, where the election materials were recovered. An inventory of the recovered materials showed that the number of the ballot papers had reduced from 1,571 to 450. The polling officer could not account for the differential. Even so, the Divisional Police Officer of Nsit Ubium later stormed the place and took away the remaining materials.

5.In a meeting with APC Governorship Candidate, Mr. Umana Okon Umana, the electoral officer of Nsit Ubium local government admitted that the
election process in the area was marred by security failure, which allowed PDP thugs to hijack election materials and take them to private homes for thumb-printing.

6. Similarly, invasion of polling units and snatching of ballot materials took place in other polling units in Uyo Senatorial District, Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District and Eket Senatorial District.

7. In addition to the failure to supply election materials to polling units and the snatching of ballot boxes, the elections were marred by widespread violence, resulting in the deaths of many people.

Here are instances of such unbridled violence, as related by INEC staff, party agents and other citizens who saw most of what happened.

– PDP thugs killed two of our members in Ibiono Ibom when Bassey Albert invaded a RAC centre in the area with over 50 thugs to cart away ballot materials.

– The PDP thugs also killed one of our members in Nsit Ubium.

– Three APC supporters were also killed Uyo.

– Yet another APC member was killed in Uruan.

– One more APC member was killed in Ini Local Government Area. This was acknowledged by the Assistant Inspect General of Police, Mr.
Baba Adisa Bolanta, who was in charge of elections in the state.

We have included here some links to pictorial evidence showing the killings and other acts of violence that marred the elections in Akwa Ibom State.

8. In view of the widespread failure by INEC to supply election materials to polling units in most parts of Akwa Ibom, the rampant snatching of ballot boxes and the bloodletting by PDP thugs that characterised the conduct of the elections on Saturday, we as a party hereby call for an outright cancellation of the elections.