The Independent National Electoral Commission has suspended elections conducted in two National Assembly seats in Port Harcourt Local Government Area of Rivers State over irregularities
The affected results are the PHALGA 2 House of Representatives and the PHALGA Senate elections held last Saturday.
The State INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Johnson Sinikiem, announced the suspension of the results at a media briefing in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
This came less than 24-hours after some members of political parties stormed the INEC headquarters, venue of the collation of the presidential election in Port Harcourt and accused the PHALGA collation officer of manipulating the results.
After gaining entrance into the INEC premises, the protesters found their way into the collation hall where results were being presented, accusing the PHALGA Collation Officer, Prof Victoria Olumide, of running away with the results of the National Assembly elections in the area.
The INEC statement reads, “I wish to notify the public that INEC Rivers State has suspended, PHALGA 11 House of Representative and Port Harcourt Local Government Area Senate elections for alleged irregularities.
“The Commission will conduct thorough investigation before further action will be taken.”
Meanwhile, the state Collation Officer for the Presidential Election and Vice Chancellor of the Federal University, Otueke, Bayelsa State, Prof. Charles Adias, had raised the alarm over threat to his life and those of his family by members of some political parties.
Adias while addressing stakeholders at the third day of results collation at the INEC office where only two LGA’s, Degema and Obio/Akpor were remaining expressed concerns that he could no longer continue with the proceedings without assurance of his safety by INEC and the security agencies.
Adias said his picture was all over the social media, saying those behind the threats, especially supporters of the Labour Party accused him of coming to Rivers to rig the elections.
Prof Adias, who had already received collated results from 21 LGAs, said for the past two days he had received threat messages and phone calls running into over one million calls from unknown persons issuing various threats.
While noting that he had nothing to do with the election and the computation, Prof Adias said his assignment was simply to receive collated results from the assigned officials and wondered why those he described as “interested persons” were after his life.
He stated, “Let me bring to the attention of stakeholders and everyone here that I have been receiving text messages and phone calls from members of the public calling me to order and threatening my life and members of my family.
“For the avoidance of doubts, my role is limited to merely receiving reports. I am not privy to any facts and figures emanating from the conduct of an election.
“I am not involved in voting, counting, and revalidation. My life is being threatened because I have elected to serve my country.”
Continuing, Adias said, “I request for every necessary protection. I wish to adjourn further collation of this report. I am not the returning officer.
“We only sit here to receive reports. For every hour I receive more than one million calls. I hereby stand down collation.”
But the Supervising Commissioner of Police in charge of the election in Rivers State, Adeoye Aderemi, assured him of his safety and adequate protection and pleaded with him to continue the assignment so that it would not affect the national collation.
Meanwhile, the state INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Johnson Sinikiem, has condemned the threat of life on Prof Adias.
He stated, “I want to urge the public and our critical stakeholders to know that the function of a state Collation Officer is just to collate results of elections conducted at the various local government areas of the state.
“He is not a supervising presiding officer nor a presiding officer that conducts elections at the polling units.
“He is only collating results already collated at the local government area level that cannot be changed except by the verdict of an Election Tribunal.
“I urge those concerned, to seize forthwith in unleashing threats because his job does not involve accreditation, voting, counting, computation, validation etc..of votes by parties at primary and secondary levels.
“I wish to draw the attention of security agencies, especially the Election Commissioner of Police for Rivers State that is equally a co-chairman of Inter Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security on this attempt to truncate the collation of presidential election results in Rivers State.”
