Magnus Abe of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been declared winner in the Saturday, December 10, rerun election in Rivers State.
This is as the rerun election to produce 21 federal and state lawmakers has lived up to expectations – killings, threats, accusations, repeats, and likely call-off in some areas.
Abe beat Olaka Nwogu of the PDP (Eleme), while another APC contestant, Maurice Pronem, has also been declared winner for House of Reps Khana/Gokana. Out of the 152,706 valid votes cast, Abe won 125, 938 votes to clinch victory, while Pronem scored 68,219 votes out of the 91,533 valid votes.
The political party that used to cry the loudest against irregularities, APC, is now praising the conduct, though with some complaints, while the one that used to praise the voting exercises, the PDP, is now crying against the election umpire (INEC), the army, the police, etc.
The PDP said two of its members were killed by security agencies in Gokana Local council area while the APC said its youth member was killed by suspected PDP thugs in Emuoha Local council area.
The PDP added that many of its leaders were arrested and two local council caretaker council bosses appointed by the state governor (Ikwerre and Emuohua) were injured and arrested.
Former governor, Chibuike Amaechi, now minister of transportation, said he did not vote in his Ubima home town because he did not see result sheets, a matter that had continued to be controversial in every election in the state on whether or not the presiding officers were supposed to display the empty result sheets to the crowd as evidence of transparency or not.
One of the notable contestants, Magnus Abe of the APC for Rivers South-East senatorial constituency, has, however commended the conduct of the rerun in his zone particularly in Gokana Local Government Area where two persons were killed.
He told newsmen shortly after casting his vote at Ward 16 Unit 10 Bera in Gokana Local Government Area that although he had got reports about few cases of late arrival of materials and ballot box snatching, which he said were promptly responded to by security operatives, so far the conduct appeared impressive.
He commended the law enforcement agents for their vigilance and also used the opportunity to commend President Mohammadu Buhari and Service Chiefs for providing adequate security for the election.
By Saturday evening, Governor Nyesom Wike accused the Nigerian Army and the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigerian Police of killing PDP agents, hijacking electoral materials and working to deliver a particular candidate in Rivers South-East Senatorial District.
The governor added that no matter the use of the Nigerian Army and SARS personnel by the APC government, Rivers State would never be conquered.
Governor Wike said there were mass shootings by the Nigerian Army and the Police in Khana, Gokana , Akuku-Toru and Etche local government areas on election day, saying the security agencies were deployed to the state to manipulate the result of the polls.
Ignatius Chukwu
