APC Rejects Guber Election Results in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Delta

 

 Compiled by Emma Ella

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected the results of last Saturday’s governorship elections in Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Delta States.

While the APC in Delta State rejected the governorship election result announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) in Asaba, the state capital, the Cross River APC also rejected the results of the governorship and House of Assembly elections held in the state.

Also, at a press conference held yesterday at the APC state secretariat at Ikot Ekpene road in Uyo, Akwa Ibo State, the state party Chairman, Mr. Ini Okopido, condemned the result, describing it as fictitious and fraudulent.

The party called on INEC to cancel the Delta State governorship election result over ballot snatching, over voting, vote buying and impunity allegedly carried out by the PDP in the last Saturday’s election.

This is coming as the Delta State APC Campaign Council and the governorship candidate of the party, Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru, had also condemned the conduct of the state governorship and state assembly elections.

The party state Chairman, Prophet Jones Erue, in a statement yesterday said the election was marred by violence as three persons were murdered in cold blood, adding that it was the worst election ever conducted in the state where PDP thugs, armed with weapons, snatched and burnt ballot papers and result sheets in APC strongholds.

Erue alleged that from Delta North to Central and South, PDP thugs exhibited a rapacious thirst for blood and an eerie appetite for violence as they left many innocent voters in pool of blood, alleging security agents of aiding PDP thugs to cart away ballot boxes at the unit, wards and collation centres.

According to him, “The object of their gory adventure was to tilt the election results in favour of the PDP. This unpatriotic and satanic objective was indeed achieved but not without exposing their unabashed criminality to grab power so they can subject Deltans to another four years of exploitation and crude pillage of our collective patrimony.

“Indeed the disparity between the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) card readers and records of accreditation and the votes being declared at the collation centres across the state exposed their crass breach of the electoral process and villainous infringement of the law, since the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, had stated that where there are more voters than the number recorded by the card readers, the results in that area shall be annulled.

“Delta APC condemns and rejects in its totality the result of the governorship election held March 9, and calls on the INEC chairman to instantly annul the result and re-conduct same in the nearest date possible in line with extant laws and with all necessary logistics put in place to ensure a free and fair election.

“INEC has already demonstrated its preparedness to apply drastic measures where there is a clear breach of the electoral process through its suspension of the Rivers State election, and we urge the electoral umpire to apply same rule in the case of Delta State to further underscore its consistency, commitment and determination to conduct a free and fair elections in all states in Nigeria.”

Meanwhile, the Cross River State APC has rejected the results of the governorship and House of Assembly elections held on March 9 in the state.

The APC governorship candidate, Senator John Owan-Enoh, and state House of Assembly candidates lost the elections to the PDP governorship candidate, Prof Ben Ayade, and the party House of Assembly candidates.

In a statement issued yesterday by the state acting Chairman of the APC, Sir John Ochala, the party said it rejected the result in its totality, describing it as a hoax.

According to the statement, "The All Cross River State APC hereby informs the public that we dissociate ourselves from this rape on democracy in the name of governorship and state House of Assembly elections. We are all witnesses to the day-light robbery of our collective will and mandate led by the PDP state government in active connivance with the INEC and security agencies.

"Despite the very responsible manner in which our teeming party faithful went about their civic responsibility, the PDP, in desperation to perpetuate their evil agenda, killed several of our members who refused to compromise and resisted the vote stuffing carried out by the PDP.

"We call on all APC members and well-wishers to remain calm and go about their lawful duties without let or hindrance while the party leadership explores all avenues within legal limits to correct this aberration."

In a related development, the Akwa Ibom State Chairman of APC, Mr. Ini Okopido, has condemned the result of the governorship election in the state, describing it as fictitious and fraudulent.

He said INEC committed the most embarrassing electoral fraud ever conceived since the return to democratic rule in Nigeria in 1999 by announcing ‘concocted and spurious’ results of the governorship and state House of Assembly elections.

Okopido alleged: “The commission, in collusion with the PDP, committed an electoral coup against the people of Akwa Ibom State by publishing and announcing such results that have no bearing with the results as counted and announced at the various units in the state.

“The result of the governorship and state assembly elections in the state, as obtained from our agents across the state, clearly shows that APC won in 26 out of the 31 local government areas of the state.

“Therefore, our party rejects the sham and fictitious result as announced by INEC in the state, as it was contrived, manipulated and concocted to suit the unholy alliances between the commission and PDP.

“The APC in the state hereby vehemently rejects the purported results as released by INEC in the state. We call on INEC to recourse to the part of honour and cancel the election results forthwith to avoid any breakdown of law and order.”

Urging members of the party in the state to continue to remain calm and law abiding, the state party chairman vowed that APC shall retrieve the victory freely given to the party by members through every legitimate means.