Following the wide spread violence that characerised the Presidential and National Assembly elections in Okrika Local Government Area, some political parties are demanding for the immediate probe of the INEC Electoral Officer, in charge of the area, Mr. Leo Okon.
The joint press statement issued by the political parties reads:
PRESS BRIEFING BY GREEN PARTY OF NIGERIA (GPN), ACCORD PARTY (AP), LABOUR PARTY (LP), AND THE ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS (APC), ON THE NEFARIOUS ACTIVITIES OF INEC EO, MR. LEO OKON, DURING THE PRESIDENTIAL AND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS IN OKRIKA LGA ON FEBRUARY 23RD, 2019
Gentlemen of the Press,
In the early hours of Saturday, February 23, 2019, during the Presidential and National Assembly elections, leaders of political parties in Okrika Local Government Area were greeted with the news that the INEC Electoral Officer, Mr. Leo Okon , could not account for some ballot boxes and other election materials meant for Wards 6, 7, 8 and 9.
This news though shocking was later confirmed when spirited efforts were made by Mr. Leo Okon to conclude his deal with the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP , to rig in their favour, in a bid to justify the several millions of Naira he had collected as bribe from the PDP prior to the election.
We were further shocked when all the adhoc staff recruited to work during the elections were confirmed to be card carrying members of the PDP. Despite all efforts on our part to impress it on him that those he had recruited as adhoc staff to work with him were all members of the PDP, he remained obstinate and refused to heed to good reasoning and pleas to ensure equity and fairness.
Rather than address our complains the E.O Mr. Leo, addressed some members of the PDP and claimed elections were holding everywhere in the country including Okrika and we wondered how elections could be holding when he claimed election materials were missing in some Wards.
Afterwards, some thugs sponsored by the PDP went round picking ballot boxes to their hideout. We quickly complained to security agents led by Captain Auwal Siadu Inuwa and SP Nasiru Garba, who went in the direction of the thugs, and retrieved a few of the materials which were returned to the Local Government council.
Later in the evening, we got information that they had started entering results into the supposedly missing election materials under the supervision of the EO, without the participation of representatives of other political Parties. There would have been a complete breakdown of law and order if security agents had to intervened.
It smacks of criminal tendencies and a high level of unprofessionalism for the EO to turn around after failing to execute his wicked plans in Okrika and accuse the personnel of the Nigerian Army on legitimate duty, of snatching ballot boxes.
It is understandable that the EO, having failed in his spirited attempts to persuade Captain Auwal Saidu Inowa of the Nigerian Army who had been working tirelessly with his men to ensure that Okrika was peaceful during the elections, to accept bribe from the PDP and compromise the entire electoral process same way he had done, quickly ran to the press to indict and tarnish the image of Captain Auwal Saidu Inowa and the military in other to put them in bad light before the general public.
It is on record, that before and after 2015 general elections, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in Okrika Local Government area made sure that other political parties could not hold rallies and campaigns freely.
The PDP did not just stop the opposition parties from campaigning, but masterminded the bombing of the APC Party secretariat at Abam Ama and twice, violently disrupted the 2015 gubernatorial campaign at the Okrika National Secondary School field, that led to the death of a police officer, stabbing of a channels television reporter, Mr. Chris Eruka and fifty other party members that sustained different degrees of injury, (refer to Vanguard newspaper of 18th February, 2015, Sahara reporters of 17th February 2015 and Premium Times of 24th January, 2015).
It is very imperative to state that the professional conduct of men of the Nigerian Army under the supervision of Captain Auwal Saidu Inowa led to the reduction in the number of casualties during the election on 23rd February 2019.
It is important to note that members of various political parties were molested and a member of the APC, one Mr. DanKiki Ayika, would have been killed on the day of the election, if Army officers had not intervened, the parties are grateful to the Captain Auwal Saidu Inowa led team for saving his life.
Mr. Kiki was beaten and bathed with fuel by hoodlums loyal to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for no reason and would have been set ablaze, if not for the quick intervention of Army Officers around the vicinity.
Mr. Ayika is currently hospitalized with severe injuries, but we are comforted by the fact that he is alive and no lives were lost, which is not usually the case in Okrika L.G.A
Consequently, we demand as follows:
1. That The Federal Government, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and other relevant authorities should urgently investigate the activities of Mr. Leo Okon, his involvement that led to the compromise of the electoral process and the violent attack on innocent citizens.
2. That the number of security agents deployed to the area should be reviewed and more officers assigned to cover elections in Okrika to avert the loss of innocent lives.
3. The immediate investigation into the crisis that rocked the area during the elections and the prosecution of those found culpable.
4. The INEC National Chairman, Prof. Mamood Yakubu should call his EOs to order and ensure that no card carrying member of the PDP is engaged as Adhoc staff of the commission in the forthcoming Governorship and State Assembly elections on March 9, 2019.
5. That Rivers people should be alert to the gimmicks of desperate politicians who hire thugs dressed in army uniform in a bid to perpetuate electoral violence in order to tarnish the image of the Nigerian Army.
Thank you,
