Nigeria: Militants Reject Saturday's Elections
Bureau Chief, Port Harcourt
NIGER Delta militants in Nigeria's oil and gas basin, have rejected the April 14 polls, claiming that it was the worst
elections in the history of Black Africa.
Their spokesperson Cynthia Whyte, in a wired statement to SCOOP on Monday said, ''we kept to our word not to breach the
peace in all the states of the Niger Delta and watched closely in absolute disbelief, the failure of those who lord over
the Nigerian state to learn from the mistakes of the past''.
According to her, ''over the past months, we have been inundated with requests to give dialogue and the electoral
processes a chance. We conceded. However, that concession has today been overturned. We have also over turned our
decision not to breach the peace''.
Continuing, the militants said the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) has proved itself to be the ''biggest wastage
in recent times, squandering the badly needed resources of poverty stretched citizens of the Nigerian state on a
so-called elections that smacked of perverse fraud, lack of required preparations, gross irregularities, incompetence
and lack of good judgment and leadership''.
For them, the elections in Rivers state was a complete sham, representative of the quality of leadership that had
governed the state thus far. Reports from Bayelsa and Delta states are not any different.
''The elections were frout with extreme lateness, poor turnout due to frustration, lack of materials, presence of fake
materials developed by dubious politicians of the ruling PDP, abduction of election materials by hired thugs in
connivance with INEC officials and members of the police.
We therefore state that any attempt by INEC declare results which are not accepted by our operatives in all states of
the Niger Delta will be rejected and appropriate action taken against the culprit state INEC.
We will unleash terror in infinite terms. Let us watch and see IF this will be an empty threat'', they said.
ENDS