The All Progressives Congress (APC), has demanded the immediate redeployment of Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr Aniedi Ikoiwak, for colluding with Governor Nyesom Wike and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to rig the December 10 rerun legislative elections in Rivers state in favour of PDP.
The demand was contained in a statement issued on Monday in Port Harcourt and signed by Rivers APC Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya.
The statement reads: “With the revelation of the unholy partnership between Wike and Mr Aniedi Ikoiwak, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) to deny a large chunk of the Rivers State electorate a voice during the rerun election, we hereby demand for the immediate redeployment of this enemy of democracy.
“Mr Ikoiwak had the audacity to announce PDP’s George Sekibo as a Senator without adding votes from three LGAs of Etche, Emohua and Ikwerre LGAs which would have made APC’s Andrew Uchendu the winner.”
Based on this, the APC, Rivers State Chapter, “wish to ask Sekibo, Osinakachukwu Ideozu and their likes in PDP not to celebrate their fake victories as we will not allow killers of our people to lead us but will use every constitutional means at our disposal to retrieve the mandate given to our candidates by the voters”.
Rivers APC berated Wike who, according to the party, was caught on audio tape shouting: “Tell the Electoral Officers in Etche and Khana to return my money or I’ll kill them – I’ll make sure that they will not leave Rivers State. I understand that both of them are from Plateau State… I’ll kill them if they don’t return my money.
“With this latest revelation we have been vindicated that Wike is the most bloodthirsty Governor in Nigeria who if not checked, will surely derail our democracy. Who knows how many Rivers State people that Wike and his PDP hoodlums would have killed for the sake of electoral victory if not for the Police and other security agencies?
“Having watched the outbursts of Chief Wike before, during and after the December 10 rerun election, we have come to the conclusion that Wike is nothing but a comical tyrant and blackmailer who needs to be restrained before he derails our hard-won emerging democracy.
“Governor Wike has not ceased to accuse the Army, DSS, Police, INEC and APC leadership of collaborating to cause havoc during the rerun election while in actual fact, he is the brain perpetuating all the killings, ballot snatching of INEC sensitive materials and fake announcements of induced INEC results, the party stated.
Police Probe Panel
Furthermore, the party questioned that: “How come a police officer, DSP Mohammed Alkali was brutally beheaded with his aide, at the usual spot where PDP hoodlums kill other security agents at Omoku? How come PDP candidates are declared as winners in most of the results so far declared by INEC?
It added that: “Under the watch of Wike, Rivers State has degenerated into a miasma, where lives have become solitary, nasty, brutish, short and the sanctity of the human lives is not paid the attention it ought to get under the purposeless PDP-led government.
“Not minding the tyranny of Wike, the Ogonis have proved that they are truly soldiers of democracy by ensuring that their son Magnus Abe was duly elected Senator, thereby shaming Wike and his army of undemocratic elements and appreciating the Ogoni clean-up initiative of President Muhammdu Buhari,” the statement said.
Concerning the 70 incidents reported, the party then insisted that Wike must submit himself to the Police Probe Panel to join the police in bringing an end to the killings in Rivers State since he assumed office.
Wike on the other hand, says the government and people of the state would not be party to the police ‘phoney’ probe panel.
