Rivers APC Explains Boycott of Rescheduled Assembly Polls

Following the experience exhibited by the Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC] during the March 28th Presidential and April 11th 2015 Governorship elections in Rivers State, the All Progressives Congress [APC] said that it has lost confidence in the ability of INEC to conduct a credible, free and fair elections.
In a statement signed by lawmakers representing Emohua State Constituency, Hon. Chidi Lioyd; Etche, Victor Amadi; Etche 1; Hon. Golden Chioma, Etche 2; Hon. Ibiso Nwuche, Ahoada East 2; Eric Apia, Ahoada East 1 and made available to Daily Times, the party said it opposed the Saturday, 18th April, 2015 elections, due to INEC officials to compromise with the People’s Democratic Party [PDP] and therefore lacked the integrity to conduct credible elections.
The APC House of Assembly candidates stated that INEC allegedly failed to provide security for the voters including people living around the polling units, as the security agencies refused to do their duty by protecting the people while aiding and abetting electoral violence and malpractices. According to them, many people, especially supporters and sympathisers have allegedly been killed, injured or harassed by the PDP and her agents without any response from the security personnel.
The statement further added that the presence and involvement of heavily armed militants and other criminally minded, sponsored by certain politicians, will render the exercise useless as electoral materials will be allegedly snatched and high powered intimidation of the electorate and mindless rigging will only result, thereby denying voters their sovereign right to vote.
More so, the statement added, there were no national and international observers available to monitor the elections to ensure its credibility, have withdrawn from their roles and left the state in the wake of horrible violence, bestiality and disgraceful electoral malpractices recorded on March 28th and April 11th, 2015.
The APC reiterated that there was no official communication by INEC to the All Progressives Congress concerning the elections due to be supervised by the REC, Gesila Khan, whose handling of the recent poll had been most controversial.
It also explained that exposing Rivers people to further violence in the name of fresh elections, is not in the interest of electorate, and will therefore, not risk the lives of their supporters for an election that will never be.
APC call on the Chairman of INEC, Professor Jega, to suspend the proposed election as there are court proceeding vide suit Nos: FHC/PH/CS/175/2015, FHC/PH/CS/176/2015; FHC/PH/CS/177/2015, FHC/PH/CS/178/2015; FHC/PH/CS/179/2015; and FHC/PH/CS/180/2015, pending at the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, seeking an injunction to stop the election, saying INEC has been served the court process on the 16th April, 2015.
Reacting, the Rivers INEC Commissioner, Mrs. Gesila Khan said she was not aware of anything.