By: Amaechi Okonkwo – Port Harcourt.
The Rivers state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the state office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of deliberately frustrating its efforts to file petitions against the outcome of the National Assembly elections of February 25, 2023, in the state.
The party alleged that it had applied for the Certified True Copies (CTCs) of forms EC8A, EC8B, EC8C and other documents incidental to the recently conducted National Assembly elections in the state in which, according to the APC, results were mutilated and or forged in favour of the PDP in areas where the APC clearly won and its candidates should have been declared winners if INEC had kept its promise of uploading results from the polling units to the iReV portal.
It further claimed that the Head of Operations, Mr Odeh, against the civil service rules, INEC guidelines and the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended) consciously and viciously refused to release the relevant documents.
APC in a press release in Port Harcourt Friday night accused INEC of unethical connivance with the PDP and unbriddled partisanship through the lack of cooperation of Mr Odeh, a move which, according to the party is at the heart of prosecuting the party’s petitions at the Elections Petitions Tribunal “knowing too well that election petitions are sure generis or time-bound.”
It described Mr Odeh’s attitude as meaning that the Head of Operations is in cahoots with the PDP in Rivers State to frustrate all election petitions and allow the PDP walk away with allegedly stolen mandates.
The statement which was signed by Darlington Nwauju, Spokesman of the party reads in part; “As a law-abiding political party, we wish to draw public attention to the unethical connivance with the PDP and unbridled partisanship of Mr Mike Odeh, who is the INEC Head of Operations in Rivers State.
“May we put on record that the APC in Rivers State had applied for the Certified True Copies (CTCs) of forms EC8A, EC8B, EC8C and other documents incidental to the recently conducted National Assembly elections in the state in which results were mutilated and or forged in favour of the PDP in areas where our party clearly won and our candidates should have been declared winners if INEC had kept its promise of uploading results from the polling units to the iReV portal.
“Instructively, the said Head of Operations, Mr Odeh, against both the civil service rules, INEC guidelines and the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended) has consciously and viciously erected a wall to ensure he frustrates the moves of the APC in Rivers State to retrieve the stolen mandates of our National Assembly candidates by refusing to release the relevant documents earlier listed, which are at the heart of prosecuting our petitions at the Elections Petitions Tribunal knowing too well that election petitions are sure generis or time-bound. Meaning that the Head of Operations is in cahoots with the PDP in Rivers State to frustrate all election petitions and allow the PDP walk away with stolen mandates. This brazen show of hate for our party is even in the face of the endorsement/approvals already granted our party to access these documents by the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) and the Administrative Officer of INEC in Rivers State.
“The APC in Rivers State has lost confidence in the Head of Operations, Mr Mike Odeh and demands his immediate investigation and prosecution for single-handedly uprooting the independence status of the INEC after obviously corruptly enriching himself and putting his selfish interest against the public good.
“We hereby issue a 72hrs notice to the INEC headquarters to direct that these documents be released to the APC State chapter failing which we shall have no other option than to mount a blockade on the State office of the INEC in Port Harcourt until our rights are granted as a political party”.
The response of INEC in Rivers state was still being awaited as at the time of filing this report as the officials of the electoral umpire, the Public Relations Officer PRO, Geraldine Ekelemu and the Director Voter Education and Publicity VEP, Mark Usulo were yet to respond to text messages sent to them on the matter.
READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
