PDP alleges INEC plotting security breach in Rivers

The Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has raised the alarm over an alleged plot by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cause security breach in the state.

The party said by upholding an election announced by INEC despite a subsisting court order restraining it from doing so, the electoral umpire was acting against the law.

‎The PDP said that in the court order granted by Justice A.M. Liman of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt on June 29th, 2016, in suit no FHC/PH/CS/523/2016, restrained INEC from upholding the election since it was postponed by INEC and did not hold.

PDP Publicity Secretary in the state, Hon. Samuel Nwanosike, said this to journalists in Port Harcourt, on Tuesday.

‎ Nwanosike said that election did not hold in Tai Local Government Area, yet INEC wanted to announce the result in favour of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Nwanosike maintained that the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Aniedi Ikoiwak had earlier said he would uphold the election despite his earlier stance that election did not take place, and wondered how the APC could garner almost the 35, 000 votes without the PDP scoring anything tangible, attributing to the postponement of the election.

In the words of Nwanosike, “We want to appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari to call Elder Aniedi Ikoiwak to order. The president’s Change Begins with me campaign should be respected. We don’t want anybody to throw Rivers State into crisis Ikoiwak wants to cause security breach.

“We are also calling the attention of the Department of State Service (DSS), the Nigerian Army, and the Nigerian Police to call INEC to order not to cause security breach in the state.”