[dropcap]I[/dropcap] am sure I’m as appalled and irritated as a good number of you out there, seeing the unintelligent concoction of nonsense as justification for nonsense, in the face of a glaring act of criminality by members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State in printing election result sheets on behalf of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for an election that the APC is also contesting.
I mean, what could be more damning and damaging of the values of a political party and the society governed by it, to find it excusing acts of criminality and trivialising high crimes that do not only undermine democracy but challenge the very integrity of such a society?
Prominent members of the APC were caught red-handed and named as collaborators in the criminal act of printing fake result sheets for INEC. There is a confession video to that effect. There are inconsistencies in the confessional narratives, which prompt the necessary suspicion of an attempt to cover up a crime. There is a further attempt of culprits to misrepresent themselves to the public by not giving out their real names, which itself is intended, believed, to protect the identity of major collaborators of this high crime.
In spite of the above established facts, ill-bred citizens and enemies of democracy are excusing the crime as a set up and propaganda by the Peoples Democratic Party to malign and frame-up members of the APC in order to stop the election of Mr. Magnus Abe who is running for Senate in the major Senatorial Zone affected by this result printing scandal.
Good gracious God. How can that be?
Was it the PDP that told a prominent member of the APC, Deacon Atonyesia Dimieari-Peterside to give out his name as Mr. Atonye Peters?
Was it the PDP that told him to mention the name of Mr. Emma Chinda, a fellow member of the APC and Former Commissioner for Agriculture under Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, as his collaborator?
Was it the PDP that told Mr. Atonye Peters, sorry, Deacon Atonyesia Dimieari-Peterside, brother to Mr. Dakuku Peterside, the defeated APC Gubernatorial candidate of Rivers State, to claim that the printed materials were for a pending Tribunal case, when clearly no material for the only ongoing case, which is the House of Assembly seat for Opobo/Nkoro, was sighted among the lot? We saw result sheets from Khana, Asari Toru and 5 other LGAs in the videos but none from Opobo.
Let’s even agree for the sake of momentarily excusing the pervading foolishness, that the materials were truly for nonexistent Tribunal cases, does anyone need to print fresh results sheets for a tribunal matter that was about an already conducted election?
If the Printer was commissioned to reprint copies of results for already concluded elections, AS HE SAID BY HIMSELF IN THE VIDEO, how come none was sighted?
What then was accountable for the bags of printed result sheets for yet to be conducted rerun elections in Rivers State that were found with and obtained from Deacon Atonyesia Dimieari-Peterside?
Can you see the foolishness that the Rivers State APC Chairman, along with the colony of the defunct, is excusing and by effect justifying? Is this not beyond shame?
If they claim to be set up, are they admitting that what Deacon Atonyesia Dimieari-Peterside is accused of was a crime? Have they submitted so?
Not really. From all we see, they are talking nonsense in justification of nonsense in the face of incontrovertible facts that weaken their unintelligent rhetoric. Really sad for Nigeria’s democracy. Really sad that under President Buhari we’ve descended this low. So very unfortunate…AND SOMEONE IS ACCUSING JONATHAN OF WHAT?
Oraye St. Franklyn is a barrister-at-law. He is senior special assistant to Governor Nyesom Wike on Social Media. He is a strategic communicator and good governance advocate, writes from Port Harcourt, Rivers State. He tweets from @RealOraye. He is also on Facebook.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
