statement from the APC in Rivers state. Looks like
election in some areas in the state was very violent. Read
statement below and see the pics after the cut.. *viewer
discretion advised*
Today’s presidential and National Assembly
elections have turned out to be a big nightmare for
the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers
State, with the members being killed, attacked and
disenfranchised in various parts of the State.
“Armed militias working for the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) have intensified their killing of APC
members. Scores have already been killed and several
others marked for elimination. This morning in Kpite
Town, Tai Ward 2 and other areas of the State, five
people were shot dead by PDP’s armed militia, and that
was before accreditation commenced,” Rivers APC
Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, said in a
statement in Port Harcourt. Pictures of our killed
members are attached.
Lamenting his party’s ordeal, Ikanya said: “It is sad that
PDP and its collaborators are targeting APC strongholds
and chieftains for attacks and killings. To intimidate our
people and contrary to the court ruling forbidding the use
of the Army in this election, there has been a massive
deployment of soldiers in the State with clear instruction
to shoot at sight any APC agent that refuses to comply
with the evil plot of PDP to write the results of the
election at some designated areas of the State in favour of
PDP.”
Chief Ikanya gave the following specific horrifying
examples of APC’s travails:
•Hon. Chidiebere Okwuwolu, former Commissioner and
currently an APC leader, was arrested by police and
taken to Olu Obasanjo Police Station in Port Harcourt
along with 99 other arrested APC members scattered in
various Police Stations in the State.
•At Ubima, the home town of Governor Chibuike
Amaechi, the INEC results sheets are currently with
Chief Nyesome Wike, the guber candidate of PDP in
Rivers State. Governor Amaechi has refused to embark
upon any accreditation because of lack of result sheets in all
the polling units in the State, a situation contrived by
INEC and PDP to make room for PDP to rig the
election.
•At Andoni, the Local Government Area of Rivers State
APC Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, and Chief
Uche Secondus, the National Vice Chairman of PDP
and his cousin, Engr Tele Ikuru (the Deputy Governor of
Rivers State who few days defected to PDP) hell has
been let loose; electoral materials have been hijacked by
PDP agents in connivance with the Army that has been
threatening to arrest and kill any APC chieftains in sight.
•The Caretaker Committee Chairman of Andoni Local
Government area, Esuku Esuku, has been ordered out of
Ngo, headquarters of Local Government, by the Joint
Task Force (JTF)/army personnel deployed to Ngo, or
be killed. •At Abonnema, headquarters of Akuku-Toru
Local Government, materials are being distributed from the
house of Minister of Sports, Chief Tammy Danagogo,
instead of the INEC office, without any security
personnel. Danagogo has held the policemen that ought to
escort these materials to the polling units hostage and
injuring DPO of Abonnema, Mr. Joseph Kayode for
daring to accompany Hon Isobo Jack the Commissioner
for Urban Development to the Polling Unit, relevant
pictures attached.
•PDP thugs hijacked materials and INEC personnel
meant for Akuku-Toru Wards 15, 16 and 17. The
hijacked materials and men were taken to Freetown, a
hinterland coastal community. The attack was led by two
youths whose identities are known. •In Tombia, in same
Akuku-Toru Local Government, PDP had by Friday
night filled the community with Ijaw Youth Council (IYC)
bouncers who were attacking APC members and, at the
same time, preventing those returning home to vote from
entering the town. They were doing so in the presence of
soldiers who were too few in number. The Caretaker
Committer Chairman and others were injured on
Friday. The over 30 APC members that were to act as
agents were arrested. •In Buguma, which is the
Headquarters of Asari-Toru Local government, policemen
were busy all day arresting APC chieftains. •In Gokana
Local Government, trained INEC ad-hoc personnel were
replaced with untrained manpower suspected to be PDP
members. This is believed to have been done in connivance
with the LGA Electoral Officer (EO).
•At Opobo/Nkoro, the Local Government Area of Dr.
Dakuku Adol Peterside, the gubernatorial candidate of
APC, the house of Opobo/Nkoro Caretaker Committee
Chairman, Loveday Jaja, was torched after he escaped to
avoid being killed by the PDP hoodlums. Electoral
materials meant for the Local Government Area have been
diverted to John Africa/Ada Tom Pepple Compound
area where they are thumb-printing in favour of PDP.
One Barrister J.B Pepple was caught with stained
thumbs and he admitted to thumb-printing. Another person
Alafagha Oko-Jaja had his head broken head and he is
seriously bleeding. No one is sure if he will survive. The
army has been going around the community harassing
people while Chiefs in Kalaibiama are compelling them to
vote for President Goodluck Jonathan of PDP. This is
said to be on the orders of Chief of Army Staff, Major-
General Kenneth Minimah, who is also from the town.
Mr. Harold Peterside a PDP Agent in Unit 006
Ward, Oopbo/Nkoro was caught with INEC Register
and fake Results Sheet at the Polling Unit.
•At Oyigbo LGA, 40,000 incident forms were being
given out at 6:30 a.m. but they stopped when the APC
Agent complained about it. He was however asked to
leave the INEC office at about 11:30 a.m. Already,
120,000 incident forms have been to Port Harcourt
LGA, 80,000 to Obio/Akpor and 50,000 to Ikwerre
LGA. The incident forms are one of the ways PDP
plans to use to rig the elections around the country,
especially in the South South and South East.
•In Okrika, there was sudden change and appearance of
fresh and inadequately trained INEC ad-hoc staff who
tried to persuade voters to undergo manual accreditation,
claiming that card readers assigned to Okrika LGA polling
booths were not working (even without trying them). In a
few units where APC supporters insisted on ‘No Card,
No Accreditation’, the card readers mysteriously began to
work. But in majority of the places manual accreditation is
being undertaken. Also in Okrika, there is insufficient
delivery of electoral materials by INEC. Up till now no
one, not even party agents, has seen the original result
collation sheets. The INEC officials claim it is not
everything that they must explain. Meanwhile, INEC
delivered incident forms far excess of the number of
registered voters.
Meanwhile, PDP stalwarts are openly parading bundles
of PVC cards in their possession. Rowland Sekibo,
accompanied by police and PDP thugs armed with guns,
are going around chasing away APC members from doing
accreditation. They had done so in wards 1, 7, 8, 9 and 2.
They tore the tags of our agents, beat them and chased
them away, injuring scores of them.
“We condemn this brazen rape of democracy by PDP in
collaboration with INEC and the security agents. It is
unacceptable as this is not what democracy should be.
PDP should allow Rivers people to vote without guns
pointed at their throats,” Dr. Ikanya said in the statement.
Dr Ikanya passed a vote of no confidence on the State
Resident Electoral Commissioner, Gesila Khan, declaring
that she has failed woefully as she is bent on carrying out
her secret agreement with PDP to return victory to the
party at all cost. Whatever trash she will announce as the
result of today’s election is not acceptable to us and we ask
for her immediate transfer and a new date be set for a
proper election in Rivers State than the sham and charade
that was calculated to rubbish INEC and democracy.
The pictures of our killed members are attached.
Long Live APC!
Long Live Rivers State!!
Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze,
SSA Media and Public Affairs to the State Chairman,
APC Rivers State.
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