BREAKING NEWS, Politics
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THE Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has been declared winner in 10 state constituencies in the rerun House of Assembly elections in Rivers State, held on Saturday, March 19.
The party won in Akuku Toru 1, Omuma, Degema, Ahoada East 1, Ahaoda East 2, Emohua, Akuku – Toru 2, Obio- Akpor 1, Obio-Akpor 2 and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni.
The All Progressives Congress, APC, the major opposition party in the state, won in Opobo.
In a related development, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has announced the cancellation of elections in Etche and Asari-Toru local councils bringing the total number of councils where elections were cancelled to eight.
In a statement released by Aniedi Ikoiwak, resident electoral commissioner, said the cancelation was necessitated by the need to forestall breakdown of law and order in the event of further aggravation of crisis. Ikoiwak gave names of the affected local councils as Etche, Asari-Toru, Khana, Bonny, Gokana, Andoni, Tai and Eleme.
He said: “The INEC needs to put all stakeholders on notice that we are still studying the situation in the other 15 local councils where collations are currently going on.”
The electoral umpire further cited violence, snatching of ballot boxes, non-compliance to electoral law as part of the reasons for cancellation.
The commission said it would not conduct a re-run of the national and state legislative elections in the eight affected local government areas until it had conducted a staff audit of its ad-hoc personnel that were deployed to conduct the elections on behalf of the commission
Meanwhile, both the APC and the PDP had accused each other of fomenting violence and hijacking the collation officer in order to manipulate the results.
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State blamed Dakuku Peterside, the APC governorship candidate, for the incident that led to the shooting to death of the aide to his chief of staff on Sunday, March 20, by security operatives.
Wike alleged that the PDP supporters had chased Peterside from Isiokpo, in Ikwerre local council to Port Harcourt following allegations that he, in company of the APC House of Assembly candidate for the council, snatched the result sheet.
The governors said that the electoral officer had told the PDP stalwarts that he wanted to take the result for Ikwerre constituency to the INEC office in Port Harcourt. But when the electoral officer did not stop at the INEC office in Port Harcourt, they chased them to the DSS office where he and Peterside took refuge.
The DSS officers were alleged to have shot at the chief of staff’s aide who was among the people chasing Peterside and the electoral officer.
But Peterside has refuted allegation, saying that he too narrowly escaped death after his vehicle was attacked by gunmen in two utility vehicles on his way from the airport.
Besides, Peterside claimed that Emman Esi, his orderly, was shot by the unknown gunmen.
Meanwhile, Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, has said President Muhammadu Buhari should be held accountable for the violence and loss of lives in the rerun elections.
He alleged that members of the APC, being the ruling national party, were emboldened to unleash violence on the people of Rivers State and other states in Nigeria because they knew the president won’t lift a finger provided his party members were the ones perpetrating evil.
He also called for the immediate sack Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the INEC for “shoddy preparation for the election.”
— Mar 21, 2016 @ 12:30 GMT
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