Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt
The Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has said it has uncovered a plot by chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and two other political parties to deceive and tele-guide the INEC-fact finding committee in the state with concocted election results supposedly obtained in the 23 local government areas (LGAs) of the state.
This is as the party expressed concern over the continued detention of its members by the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army and the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), and has demanded for their immediate release.
The PDP in a statement signed by the media aide to the state PDP Chairman, Jerry Needam, said the APC leaders had also planned to coerce the INEC officials that supervised the governorship and State Assembly elections to admit the fault results as the authentic results.
The fake results, the statement added, were to be presented to the fact-finding committee through FSARS Commander in the State, Mr. Akin Fakorede, whom they claimed spearheaded the onslaught for the APC chieftains in the State.
The statement warned of the impending danger if the perpetrators of the “nefarious acts do not refrain from their evil plot which is capable of causing crisis in the state as the PDP and indeed the masses of Rivers people will not accept any results other than the one that emanated from the March 9 Governorship and State Assembly elections undistorted”.
The statement however thanked Governor Nyesom Wike for the peaceful disposition displayed to ensure that the state remained calm and peaceful.
“We urge and believe the INEC and the fact-finding committee will remain firm on what is right and save Rivers State from the turmoil being orchestrated by one man’s inordinate ambition to continue to rule the state through proxy.
“The federal government, all well-meaning Nigerians, the media, civil society organisations and the international community should please take note, and warn those unrepentant anti-democratic elements fomenting trouble in the state, and hold them responsible for any breach of the law and order their plot to concoct the governorship election results in the state may cause,” the statement stressed.
In a separate statement, Needam said the detained PDP members, some with their families, have spent close to one week in detention camps uncared for by their abductors.
The statement further said aside those illegally being detained by the army and FSARS, an unspecified number are still hospitalised, some in critical condition from gunshots and physical torture by the s He listed those in army and police detentions to include Prof. Israel Owate, Dr. Fred Ateng, and Hon. Deinma Iyalla; all Special Advisers to Governor Nyesom Wike.
Others are the Chairman of Emohua LGA, Hon. Tom Aliezi; Rivers State Co-ordinator of Arise Nigeria, Hon. Benjamin Diri; as well as ordinary defenceless men and women including pregnant
mothers.
Describing the arbitrary and reckless display of power, arrests, harassments and detentions as an attempt to cause crisis in the State, the State PDP called on well-meaning Nigerians, traditional rulers, religious leaders, Human Rights Groups and the National Peace Committee as well as the International Community to “rise up in defense of the innocent Rivers people and residents from the trigger happy men of the Nigerian Army and FSARS.”
