Charles Adias, the state collation officer for the presidential election, SCOPs, in Rivers State, has adjourned the collation of results for February 25, 2023 election over an alleged threat to his life by unnamed party supporters.
The official of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, who is also the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University, Otueke announced the adjournment on Tuesday morning while addressing journalists at the State Collation Centre in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
Although the Commissioner of Police of the Presidential Election in Rivers, Aderemi Adeoye, appealed to the SCOPs to reveal the names of those threatening his life, Adias insisted that he won’t proceed until the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state addressed some of the issues those threatening him raised include that faulty Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS.
So far, results from 21 local government areas have been collated. Results are expected from two local government areas – Obio-Akpor and Degema.
The two remaining LGAs are those of Governor Nyesom Wike and his Deputy, Ipalibo Banigo. While Wike hails from Obio-Akpor, his Deputy is from Degema LGA.
RIVERS STATE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION RESULTS
1. AHOADA WEST LGA
APC 3443
LP 4634
PDP 2582
NNPP 11
2. TAI LGA
APC 9442
LP 485
PDP 1506
NNPP 18
3. OPOBO-NKORO LGA
APC 5701
LP 2093
PDP 1542
NNPP 06
4. ELEME LGA
APC 8,368
LP 7,529
PDP 2,391
NNPP 82
5. EMOUHA LGA
APC 9,145
LP 4,923
PDP 5,242
NNPP 18
6. GOKANA LGA
APC 10,122
LP 2,115
PDP 8,484
NNPP 31
7. OMUMA LGA
APC 6,328
LP 2,154
PDP 1,293
NNPP 13
8. BONNY LGA
APC 2,708
LP 10,488
PDP 2,406
NNPP 87
9. ABUA-ODUAL LGA
APC 5,653
LP 1,663
PDP 4,685
NNPP 09
10. OYIGBO LGA
APC 16,630
LP 10,784
PDP 1,046
NNPP 107
11. ASARI-TORU LGA
APC 14,483
LP 2,094
PDP 4,476
NNPP 09
12. ANDONI LGA
APC 3,306
LP 2,324
PDP 4,614
NNPP 18
13. OGBA/EGBEMA/NDONI LGA
APC 6057
LP 21,883
PDP 4,099
NNPP 109
14. AKUKU-TORU LGA
APC 3,182
LP 1,700
PDP 3,131
NNPP 14
15. IKWERRE LGA
APC 9,609
LP 8,752
PDP 4,869
NNPP 58
16. OKRIKA LGA
APC 2,729
LP 4,018
PDP 8,476
NNPP 34
17. OGU-BOLO LGA
APC 2,428
LP 1,209
PDP 3,187
NNPP 07
18. KHANA LGA
APC 7,649
LP 1,704
PDP 5,483
NNPP 47
19. ETCHE LGA
APC 8368
LP 11,232
PDP 5,919
NNPP 78
20. PORT HARCOURT CITY LGA
APC 5,562
LP 62,451
PDP 7,203
NNPP 301
21. AHOADA EAST LGA
APC 8,066
LP 5,379
PDP 2,358
NNPP 58
#NigeriaDecides2023: INEC Purposely Disenfranchising Voters In Southern States In Nigeria
As reports continue trickling in from polling units across Nigeria, experts have noted a pattern indicating widespread voting irregularities, especially in southern Nigeria.
According to the analysis, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been culpable in the mass disenfranchisement of voters, especially in states like Ebonyi, Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Anambra, Enugu, Delta, Rivers, and Cross River States.
Despite assurances from the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, that voting would start by 8:30 am, INEC officials only showed up at noon and left around 2:30 pm in many polling centres across Southern Nigeria, leaving thousands of registered voters stranded.
Aboderin Jamal, a voter in Lagos State, described the irregularities as ‘daylight robbery’, calling for Yakubu and President Muhammadu Buhari to be held responsible.
“It is unacceptable that INEC has not released an official statement declaring that voting continues on Sunday the 26th of February, 2023 and even Monday, 27th of February, which should be the case till every registered voter who shows up to vote has had the chance to vote,” Jamal said.
“President Muhammadu Buhari has stated that he wants to leave a legacy of free and fair elections. The situation on the ground is the opposite, with large-scale disenfranchisement occurring mostly in Southern Nigeria.
Of all the states where INEC’s lateness in arriving at polling units, missing election materials, and violence have robbed people of the opportunity to exercise their right to vote, only in Enugu state has INEC announced that the voting time had been extended to accommodate the late commencement of voting in many parts of the state.
Some instances of malfeasance by INEC in an attempt to disenfranchise voters include:
• Amesi Ward, Anambra State, where INEC officials arrived around noon.
• Rumuonhwa polling unit in Rivers State, where INEC officials say they “forgot” the ballot papers for the presidential election, thereby ensuring that no one from that community voted.
• Ekwulu polling unit in Rivers State, where the BVAS (Bimodal Voter Accreditation System) machine was not working, ensuring no one from that community voted.
• Umuda Isingwu polling unit in Abia State, where the INEC officials had not arrived by 11.23 am, whereas registered voters had been out since 7 am.
• Ikaliki Primary School polling unit in Ebonyi State, where INEC officials arrived with only 50 ballot papers where there are about 300 registered voters, thereby disenfranchising hundreds of registered voters who showed up to vote.
• Etip Ediene polling unit in Akwa Ibom State, where INEC officials claimed the system shut down at 2:30 pm after about 200 of the registered 600 voters had cast their votes.
• Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State, where at 2 pm, no voting had started in the whole local government, and INEC officials claimed they were still “sorting” materials.
• In New Benin in Benin City, Edo State, where INEC officials and voting materials were nowhere to be found as of 1.30 pm.
• There are widespread reports of thugs preventing Igbos and non-Yorubas from voting in Lagos polling units and in some cases, disrupting the entire voting process and destroying ballot papers.
These incidences orchestrated under the leadership of Yakubu to disenfranchise voters in the South of Nigeria are not only disheartening but also actionable.
“International election observers and international bodies have to take action. There must be real-life consequences for this misconduct, including jail sentences,” Jamal said.
Source: ChannelsTV
