Don't Declare Wike Winner No Matter What

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Thursday, has raised an alarm, over a clandestine security meeting between the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Presidency, with certain top Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC,

and Security Agencies, where they allegedly hatched an “obnoxious plot to hijack the March 23, Governorship supplementary elections in some States,” Daily Post reports.

The PDP claimed that the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, was directed by Buhari, not to declare the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, winner of the March 9, election in the State.

In a statement issued by its National Spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP said: “Our party is informed of how a top Army Officer, at the meeting, directed the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, not to ever declare the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, as the winner of the Rivers Governorship election, even when it is clear to all that he won the election.

“We also have details how a top Military Officer, who is from Bauchi State, at the meeting, directed the INEC Chairman not to declare our victorious Bauchi State Governorship Candidate, Sen. Bala Mohammed, as the winner the Bauchi State Governorship election.

“We are also privy to how a Director of one of our Security Agencies, who was at the meeting, undertook to use his Agency to deliver Kano State to the APC.

“Consequent upon this ignoble plot, the security meeting has directed the deployment of 30 DSS Personnel and 300 Mobile Policemen to each of the States, where supplementary elections have been scheduled with a standing instruction to take over these respective States, and make effort to ambush the process, seeing that the PDP is bound to win.

“In spite of all, the PDP wants the Buhari Presidency and the APC to come to terms with the fact that their conspiracies will be of no avail, as our Candidates are marching to unassailable victory with the people.

“The PDP reminds our Military that Nigerians will not hesitate to treat individuals in Military uniform, who illegally involved in the supplementary elections, as fake Soldiers. After all, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, has declared that uniformed personnel, who helped APC to rig Presidential election, were fake.”

We earlier reported how the APC as a major Stakeholder in the Rivers State political space, received with mixed feelings, INEC’s timeline for concluding the Governorship and State Assembly elections in the state.

The opposition party in a statement signed by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Senibo Chris Finebone, expressed dismay that, “INEC has not shown sufficient good faith in the way it brought the collation to an abrupt stop without cogent, verifiable, and convincing reasons.

The supposed umpire went ahead to announce that collation for 17 LGAs had been concluded, as against the records provided by our situation room. And to make matters worse, INEC refused, failed, or neglected to name the said 17 LGAs, where it claimed collation had been concluded.”

The Press release reads: “Secondly, INEC curiously announced that it has dropped four LGA Collation Officers confirmed to be PDP card-carrying members, without the umpire clearing the air about the status of the LGA results the four ad hoc personnel supposedly collated.

“So many questions come to mind. Could the four Collation Officers be unfit for the job, while the collations they conducted are acceptable?

Officials of Independent National Electoral Commission tries to remove sticker used during presidential polls before the gubernatorial election at a polling station in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on March 9, 2019, during voting to elect governors and lawmakers in 29 of the nation’s 36 states two weeks after presidential and national assembly elections in which Buhari was elected for a second term. – Nigerians are going to the polls for the second time in a fortnight for governorship and state assembly elections, against a backdrop of tensions and fears of violence. (Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP)

Of course, that cannot be! Why is INEC jittery or afraid to name the 17 LGAs, if not for the simple reason that some underhand dealings might have taken place for which it is covering up?

With the violation of the collation process by Gov. Wike, when he stormed the Obio/Akpor Collation Centre, where his CSO and Security detail shot an Army Captain and other Soldiers in the process, why does it seem that INEC’s body language is suggesting that Obio/Akpor collation has been completed?

“To the APC, INEC is up to some mischief, clearly pointing to a clear determination to rig the overall result of the March 9, elections in favour of Gov. Wike and the PDP. The signs are visible enough to the blind, and loud enough to the deaf. All the shenanigans so far exhibited by INEC only go to confirm that fear.

“In any case, the APC will subject the recent announcement by INEC to meticulous scrutiny, after which the party’s position will further be made public.”

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