Collation and polling unit agents of the All Progressives Party (APC) in the recently concluded presidential and National Assembly elections in Rivers State have reported being forcibly removed from their stations by members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The APC agents in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area expressed their confusion over the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) failure to fulfill its promise of electronic transmission of results.
During a media briefing on Wednesday, Mr. Francis Eleto, the APC collation officer for Ward 2 in Obio-Akpor, accused security agents of collaborating with PDP members to rig the election. Speaking on behalf of all APC agents in the area, Eleto called for the cancellation of the National Assembly election results in Obio/Akpor. He noted that Supervisory Presiding Officers, who were supposed to be present at the collation center, were absent. Instead, he claimed that INEC officials were present but unable to upload the results. Eleto asserted, “The House of Representatives and Senate results do not reflect what was recorded at the polling units. The APC won in most polling units in Obio/Akpor for both the House of Representatives and Senate, yet we were not allowed into the collation centers. We were chased out of the local government area.”
Eleto further alleged that the PDP had hijacked both the Biometric Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the ballot boxes, with collusion from INEC officials. He stated that PDP members prevented APC agents from overseeing their respective polling units, taking control of the BVAS machines and results sheets without any security presence to intervene. He claimed that some PDP thugs arrived with security personnel.
Mr. Stanley Worgu, the APC collation agent for Ward 10 in Obio-Akpor, echoed the call for the cancellation of National Assembly election results in Rivers State. Worgu mentioned that they had submitted a petition to INEC, but the electoral body had not yet responded. He stated, “Many of the results uploaded on the INEC platform do not align with the results signed at the polling units. We are demanding a total cancellation of the National Assembly election results in Rivers State. It was not an election.”
In response, Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Chris Finebone, dismissed the allegations, stating that nothing of the sort occurred during the February 25 polls. He questioned why the same APC members who claimed victory in the presidential election would complain when subsequent elections did not favor them. Finebone remarked, “This is absolutely ridiculous and false. No such thing happened. How could people who claim they won an election still accuse those who lost of rigging? It is absurd, outlandish, and unbelievable. I advise them to stop this cheap propaganda and adhere to the rules that specify what the winner or loser should do.”
Comments are closed for this story.