IPAC urges Buhari to shun losers of Rivers’ guber polls

The Rivers State chapter of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has informed President Muhammadu Buhari that those calling on him to intervene in the state’s gubernatorial election are enemies of peace, who lost the election.

IPAC therefore urged the president to ignore the calls by pro-All Progressives Congress (APC) elders, just as it accused APC of attempting to use the elders to create a chaotic atmosphere and short-circuit the duties of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In the resolution read by the gubernatorial candidate of Accord Party, Precious Baridoo, IPAC described the call as devilish and an affront on Rivers people, who voted for Governor Nyesom Wike on March 9 governorship elections.

The group recalled how INEC’s fact-finding committee acknowledged that elections took place in majority of the polling units of the state, with collation of results and declarations already made in majority of the constituencies where PDP was clearly winning.

While noting that PDP was coasting home to victory “in spite of the failed attempt of the AAC/APC alliance to use the army and F-SARS to subvert the will of Rivers people,” IPAC stated that it was a horrible and disgraceful sight to see Nigerian Army personnel captured on video at different local government Collation Centres, including Ogo/Bolo, Okrika, Port Harcourt, Khana, Eleme and Akuku-Toru, marauding and attempting to snatch collated results. 

It said the most despicable was the invasion of the state’s governorship Collation Centre by the army on March 10, 2019, which was broadcast on national television to the entire world.

Baridoo said: “We have information that these pro-APC elders have written to the president, demanding that the president should intervene in Rivers State’s governorship election collation process, halt same and create the atmosphere to disable INEC from concluding the elections in the State.

“IPAC Rivers State views the letter of these elders to the president as devilish, wicked and an affront to the good people of Rivers State, who overwhelmingly voted for Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike of PDP on March 9, 2019.

“It is unfortunate that these pro-APC elders would allow themselves to be used by a minister, who is bent on imposing his stooge on Rivers State as governor. As elders and stakeholders, we expected these pro-APC elements to drop their political affiliations and face the reality of the time. We expected them to embrace the choice of Rivers’ people, rather than dance to the satanic tunes of the minister. 

“These pro-APC elders cannot claim ignorance of the negative roles played by the Nigerian Army as they attempted to subvert the will of Rivers’ people during the governorship and State Assembly elections.” 

IPAC regretted that instead of condemning the unnecessary militarization in a democracy and the manifest use of violence by the army in the state during the elections, the pro-APC elders chose to exhibit selective amnesia.

Baridoo noted, “We call on Mr. President to disregard the calls by these pro-APC elders to transfer the INEC officials that conducted the elections in Rivers State. IPAC Rivers State further calls on the president not to take any step that will jeopardise the collation and declaration of governorship election results in Rivers State. We have confidence in the INEC Rivers State and it should be allowed to complete the process. 

“Rivers’ people have voted for their governor and they have voted for their state lawmakers. A few misguided old men cannot subvert the will of Rivers people.”