The Rivers State Director of the National Youth Service
Corps, NYSC, Mrs. Ngonzi Nwatarali, yesterday, in Port Harcourt, revealed that
only 4,500 youth corpers were part of 26,000 ad-hoc workforce of the
Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, enlisted to conduct the
general elections.
Her disclosure shocked the leadership of the All
Progressives Congress, APC and service commanders representing the Army, Navy,
Airforce, and the some senior police officers. The NYSC director spoke at an
interactive peace session with the leadership of the All Progressives Congress,
APC, and the Peoples' Democratic Party, PDP, facilitated by the Commissioner of
Police, Hosea Kama, at the headquarters of the state police comnand, along
Moscow Road.
"Although, the NYSC contributed just a fraction of the
26,000 ad-hoc workforce of 4,500, graduates, we ask the security agencies to
give them adequate security wherever they are posted to for election duties.
Their parents have invested so much in training them and its important that are
given adequate protection while on national assignment".
The commissioner of police in his address declared that the
security agencies would be involved in the massive deployment of troops in
Rivers State before, during and after the election. He stated that anyone who
attempts to foment trouble would be dealt with.
Kama warned: "Any security officer who is not on duty
on Election Day should not wear his uniform. Any security personnel who come
out wearing his uniform when he is nit on electoral duty will be disciplined.
We have withdrawn security attached to all politicians. Those who have not sent
back their security men should do so immediately".
He stressed: "Please tell all your supporters and
followers to protect youth corpers. Ask your supporters to conduct themselves
well. I urge you to guide against unguarded utterances. Murder is murder; any of your supporters who kill
anyone will be never go scot-free. Whoever commits murder will be arrested and
prosecuted.”
"The security agencies will be very professional. If
you have any complaint please fell free to contact any security officer. We
will be impartial. We will be neutral. We will provide a level playing field
for all candidates. We ask that you enjoin all your supporters to stay clear of
criminality".
Kama emphasised: "We are all brothers. Lets us be able
to shake hands after this election. Let us participate in this election without
bitterness. Rivers State will remain after the election. Tribes will remain
after the election. Please let us do anything that will bring shame to
us".
The Rivers State Chairman of the APC, Dr. Davies Ibiamu
Ikanya, declared that the APC has lost confidence in the resident commissioner
because she has allegedly taken sides with the PDP. He also accused Mrs. Khan
of recruiting PDP card- carrying members as INEC ad-hoc staff who manipulate
the results in favour of the PDP.
He requested: "The APC want the security agencies to
take a roll call of the 26,009 ad-hoc staff with INEC in Rivers State is using
to conduct the election, so that we can properly identify the genuine youth
corpers. We are saying that the REC has allowed the PDP to smuggle the names of
its members into the list of ad-hoc staff".
Dr. Ikanya stated: "She has repeatedly turned down our
request to verify the list of the ad-hoc staff. She has substituted 50 per cent
of the original names with members of the PDP. At the presidential election, we
did not see result sheets. How can there be peace when she has bluntly refused
to listen to our complaints".
Ikanya, who said that the APC was ready for the
gubernatorial election, alleged that Mrs. Khan did not use the people she
trained. He explained that the REC has warned them not to declare the result of
the election at the unit level, contrary to what the electoral law says.
Speaking at the occasion, the governorship candidate of the
PDP, Chief Nyesom Wike, told the commissioner of police and service commanders
that he has information that the security agencies want to collude with the APC
to postpone the election to conduct it after General Muhammadu Buhari, would
have been sworn.
He stated:"We need assurance that the security agencies
and the APC are not planning to postpone the governorship election. We also
need assurance that the security agencies and the APC are not planning to do
something that will lead to the cancellation of the election that may lead to
the election being conducted again under Buhari's administration".
"We are fully prepared for the election. If they like
let them bring the chairman if APC to conduct the election, we will still
win." At that point, the chairman of the APC brought out a pink coloured
copy of next Saturday' s election, which showed that a PDP candidate to the
House of Assembly won. Wike then responded: "Why don't you wait for the
tribunal? We are used to election tribunals. We have are ready. We have been
there before".
At the close of the event, the commissioner asked the
governorship candidate of the PDP and the APC, their running mates as well as
the chairmen of both parties to sign a third peace pact which they did. The
chairman of the PDP, Felix Obuah, did not attend the event. Wike explained that
the party did not want to take chances because "our chairman was
threatened last night by some persons who told him that he cannot hide".
Dr. Dakuku Peterside the governorship candidate of the APC
kept mum through out the event, occasionally looking at the ceiling and shakibg
his head slowly in a rather pensive mood. Senator Magnus Abe; Dr. Tammy Danagogo,
Minister of Sports; Kenneth Kobani Minister of Trade and Industry; Desmond
Akawor, director-general of Wike's campaign and Victor Giadon, director-general
of Dakuku greater together campaign organisation.
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