Fresh Storm In Rivers Over Guber Polls

Fresh Storm In Rivers Over Guber Polls

Akanimo Sampson
Bureau Chief,Port Harcourt

THE political drama in Rivers State, one of Nigeria's main oil and gas-producing states,is not likely to end in a hurry.With the associates of the immediate past Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Rotimi Amaechi, bent on flushing out Celestine Omehia, from the Government House, the Action Congress (AC) is busy stoking the fire as scandalous allegations raid the state.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are alleged to be battling to justify what the AC has described as ''the hocus-pocus gubernatorial elections'' that took place in the state on April 14.

Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, spokeman for Prince Tonye Princewill, the AC governorship flagbearer in the controversial poll, said on Monday, ''we are reliably informed that efforts are currently going on to print new sets of ballot papers to add to the ones used by INEC during the last elections in Rivers State . The information is that the contract to print and deliver this new sets of ballot papers to INEC in Rivers State within the next two weeks is awarded to multiple printing companies based outside the state''.

This latest plot according to the opposition party, ''is to discredit the discovery by our legal team that only very few people actually thumb-printed the ballot papers that were used in the last gubernatorial election in Rivers State''.

Architects of this seeming new plot allegedly intend to get as many people as possible to thumb-print the new ballot papers. Political analysts say the scheme might be a ploy to make the data capturing machine imported by Princewill useless at the election tribunal. The AC has been claiming that only ten individuals actually wrote the results of the governorship election in the state.

''We have resolved to place a (N 1, 000,000.00) one million Naira reward to whoever gives us more significant details on the plot particularly the date of its delivery and venue for the thumb-printing exercise eventually leading to its failure. As much as we are ready to do anything within the ambit of the laws to expose the evil manipulations of these agents of darkness who think that our common patrimony is theirs for grab; we will as well appeal to the good people of Rivers and lovers of democracy that although we are truly encouraged by their supportive prayers, letters, e-mails and encouraging texts, the fact is this struggle should not be left only in the hands of the Princewills’ and the Amaechis’ of this state. It is a collective struggle unless our State will continue to witness strangulated growth and its people the mockery of the global community'', AC said.

Media handlers of the Omehia administration are however, seeing the latest AC's claim as a cheap blackmail. According to them, ''Omehia is too busy to be distracted by a cheap blackmail. We will like to leave the issue to the security agencies. We will like to point out that AC does not appear to be on top of the issue they are raising since they have resorted a prize of N1.00million for information''.

Apparently unshaken, the party said they will like to state that they are not in any way in doubt of the integrity of members of the election tribunal currently sitting in Rivers and their capability to dispense credible judgment on the April 14 polls.

ENDS

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