The All Progressives Congress [APC] in Rivers State
finds it curious that the governorship candidate of the PDP, Barr. Nyesom Wike
has been moving from one media house to the other dismissing the very credible
reports on the April 11 electoral debacle in Rivers State by international
election observers.. Indeed, this despicable attitude suggests that Mr. Wike
has his own meaning of international election standard different from what the
rest of the international community know.
It has to be reiterated that several of the acclaimed
international observer groups that condemned the governorship elections in
Rivers State include the African Centre for Leadership Strategies and
Development, The European Union (EU) Election Observation Mission (EOM) to
Nigeria, the US Embassy in Nigeria, among others.
The African
Centre for Leadership Strategies and Development led by Humphrey Bekaren
reported:
“What we saw
did not meet international standard of electioneering, not even the ones set by
the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC.
“We request all lovers of democracy to join us in
calling for the outright cancellation of the phony election. Unless this is
done, we would have sown the seed that could eventually grow into providing a
shade of fear and death over us.”
For the European Union (EU) Election Observation
Mission (EOM) to Nigeria led by The EU EOM Chief Observer, Santiago Fisas:
“On 11 April, security incidence and violence were
reported from across the country; predominantly, it involved inter-party
clashes, an attack on election site by hoodlums often involving ballot boxes
and election materials snatching.
“Credible reports show that problems were very severe
in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states. These warrant further investigation.
“I called on all stakeholders, voters, candidates, and
more particularly, the political parties, to continue to maintain a peaceful
response to the outcomes of the polls and to make any grievances through
official channel.
“It is very regrettable that so many people lost their
lives during the elections. Election must be violent-free; that loss of lives
is not acceptable. Citizens should be able to express their political will
freely without fear for their lives."
On its part, the US Embassy in Nigeria alleged massive
electoral irregularities in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states. According to the
Embassy:
“We have seen the reports of violence and alleged
irregularities, particularly in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states."
With these and many more observations made on the
April 11 elections in Rivers State, it is rather surprising that Barr. Nyesom
Wike could go public with his claims that the process met local and
international election standards. Obviously, he has to re-work his
understanding of what national and international election standards mean.
It is important to remind Mr. Wike that the election
process does not end with declaration of results; it ends after the ruling of
the electoral appeal court or the Supreme Court depending on the position
contested.
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