March 9 Gov’ship Election: Rivers PDP Welcomes INEC Fact-Finding Committee Recommendations
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Rivers State Chapter has welcomed the recommendations of the fact-finding committee set up by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to investigate the disruption of the collation of the results of the 9th March 2019 Governorship and House of Assembly general elections by the Army and Federal-State Anti-Robbery Squad (F-SARS).
The State PDP Chairman, Bro Felix Obuah stated this during a press briefing in Port Harcourt over the weekend.
After a thorough and holistic review of the report and findings of the committee, INEC made three fundamental verdicts on the elections.
According to the electoral body, it has the complete collated results of the Governorship and House of Assembly elections in 17 Local Government Areas of the State in safe custody.
It also claimed that 21 out of the 32 State Constituency results of the state had already been declared and returned as elected prior to when it suspended the electoral process, promising to give the timelines and activities for the completion of the election in the State.
The PDP also told the INEC that in addition to the 17 LGAs with fully collated results, the elections also successfully held and the results declared at the unit and ward levels in five of the six other local government areas where full collation of results is still pending.
It therefore urged the INEC to follow its guidelines to fill the missing gap, if any, 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 the PDP candidates the clear and unassailable winners of the 9th March 2019 Governorship and House of Assembly elections in Rivers State.
Similarly, the PDP has approved of the Maj. Gen. TA Gagariga-led committee inaugurated by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Yusuf T. Buratai to probe the allegations of misconduct, including the assassination attempt on Governor Nyesom Wike by soldiers during the 2019 general elections.
The PDP also volunteered to testify before the committee with evidence of alleged atrocities committed by soldiers against the electoral process and the people of Rivers State during and after the elections.
It also enjoined the Nigeria Police to institute a similar committee to investigate the same alleged atrocities committed by the police particularly the men and officers of Federal-State Anti-Robbery Squad (F-SARS) and its commander in Rivers State.
