Governorship candidate of the African Action Alliance (AAC) in Rivers State, Biokpomabo Festus Awara, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC, to declare him the winner of the March 9 governorship election in the state.
This is as hundreds of Rivers people yesterday staged a peaceful protest at the INEC office in Port Harcourt, demanding the declaration of the result of the Governorship and House of Assembly elections held across the state last Saturday.
The electoral umpire had on Sunday announced the suspension of the entire processes in Rivers State over alleged intimidation and harassment of INEC staff and ad hoc staff by security agents and political thugs.
Addressing newsmen in Port Harcourt yesterday, the AAC governorship candidate, Awara, also called for the redeployment of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Obo Effanga, over alleged gross incompetence.
He said: “In the light of the forgoing facts, I make the following demands: That the results already declared at the aforesaid local government collation centres should be accepted.
“That INEC should declare me Engr. Awara Biokpomabo of the African Action Congress (AAC), the winner of the 09-03-2019 governorship election in the state;
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“The State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Mr. Obo Efanga should be immediately redeployed for gross incompetence. The said State Resident Electoral Commissioner has not been able to conclude any election in Rivers State since he took over the office.”
The AAC governorship hopeful insisted that he was leading in 15 local government areas, already collated before INEC announced the suspension of the elections.
Awara said: “The aforesaid elections held as scheduled and proceeded up to collation stage in some local government areas, and in some other local government areas, results had already been collated and declared, before the Independent National Electoral Commission suspended the remaining stages of the election, which I was in clear lead and was coasting to victory.
“Some of the unit results announced at the polling units in the local government areas where collations were not concluded clearly show that I won over 15 local government areas.
“The INEC pleaded insecurity, violence, seizure of electoral materials by hoodlums etc. as the reasons for suspending the remaining stages of the election. I reject the reason given by INEC.
“This because in the local government areas that were affected, voting had concluded, results declared at the polling units and collation had begun before the abrupt suspension of the process. The commission does not have the power under our Electoral Act to suspend elections that has already been concluded.”
