The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Rivers State has welcomed and commended the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai for inaugurating the Major-General TA Gagariga’s led Committee to probe the allegations of misconduct, including the assassination attempt on Governor, Nyesom Wike by soldiers during the 2019 general elections.
The party assured the Chief of Army Staff that the “PDP will appear, present and prove before the Committee with facts and evidence of the atrocities committed by his soldiers against the electoral process and the people of Rivers State before, during and after the 2019 general elections”.
The party equally called on the Acting Inspector General of Police, Mr. Abubakar Adamu to institute a similar panel to probe the alleged involvement of the Rivers State Commander of F-SARS, Mr. Akin Fakorede and some police operatives in the alleged invasion of polling units, collation centers, abduction of electoral officers and the shooting and killing of innocent persons during the general elections at Khana, Gokana, Ikwerre, Eleme, Tai, Oyigbo and Ogu/Bolo Local Governments of the State.
However, the party has drawn the INEC’s attention to the fact that in addition to the 17 Local Government Areas with fully collated results, the elections also successfully held and results declared at the unit and ward levels in five of the six other Local Government Areas where full collation of results was still pending.
The Chairman of the party, Felix Obua, in press briefing in Port Harcourt on Saturday reminded INEC that 21 out of 32 State constituency results had already been declared and returned as elected prior to when it suspended the electoral process in the State.
The party, therefore, urged the INEC to follow its guidelines in the collation process for the remaining five Local Government Areas by generating the full results from the unit results already in its custody and declare its candidates the clear winners of the 9th March, 2019 Governorship and House of Assembly elections in Rivers State.
Obua also alleged that “one of the victims of Akin Fakorode’s assault, Dr. Ferry Gberegbe, a senior lecturer at the Ken Saro Wiwa Polytechnic has died of gunshot wounds, while Mr. Marvin Lezor Kpea-ue, Raymond Ledogo and several persons are presently battling with life-threatening injuries inflicted on them by Akin Fakorode and his murderous gang.”
.PDP further alleged that akorede was previously indicted by INEC’s investigative panel for direct interference and involvement in the violence and rigging that characterized the 10th December, 2016 and 18th August, 2018 Legislative Houses re-run elections in Rivers State.
