*40 pro-Abe supporters brutalised, harassed, intimidated and arrested
*As SEC members accuse Amaechi, Ibiamu-Ikanya, Finebone of locking them out of electoral process
*We will meet them at the appeals committee, APC legal adviser assures
Admin l Tuesday, May 07, 2018
PORT HARCOURT, Rivers, Nigeria – Stakeholders of Rivers State All Progressives Congress, APC, who are supportive of Senator Magnus Ngei Abe’s governorship ambition have called on President Mohammadu Buhari to call Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, to order.
They also appealed to the president to intervene in the controversial ward congress held on Saturday, May 5, insisting that the ward congress never held in any of the 319 wards in the 23 local government areas in the state.
Members of the group made up of former commissioners; local government chairmen; lawmakers from the National and State Assemblies and some members of the party’s State Executive Committee, SEC, urged Buhari to ask the national secretariat of the party to conduct a free, fair, peaceful and credible ward congress in the state.
The stakeholders maintained individually, and jointly, that no ward congress took place in Rivers State and as such any statement designed to confer any form of credibility on the ward congress that never held was an exercise in futility. Elder Chidi Wihoka. representing Ikwerre/Emohua Federal Constituency said nomination forms which about 16, 000 party members had paid for at the bank were not given the forms to enable them contest for the respective positions available in the ward congress.
He explained: “There is a standard procedure for every election. There were no nomination forms. There were no result sheets. The ward congress did not take place. Therefore, no one can arrive at a result for an election that did not hold.”
“About 16, 000 APC members paid for forms but, strangely, none of them was given a form to fill. The electoral guidelines stipulates that contestants should collect their nomination forms and proceed to their wards to get the signatures of their guarantors and return to the party secretariat to submit the forms within 24 hours.”
Wihoka asked: “Since no contestant collected any form, what nomination forms did Amaechi and his cohorts use in participating at the ward congress? None of the contestants saw the members of the electoral committee sent from the national secretariat at Abuja to conduct the elections. They became so desperate they began making public announcements on radio, at about 12noon to 2pm, on Saturday, May 5, asking contestants who had paid for nomination forms to go to their wards with evidence of payment to pick up their nomination forms.”
Elder Chihioka wondered: “Should that be the case, at what time would they go back home to seek for guarantors to sign their nomination forms and come back to contest if, truly, there was an elective congress.? And to whom will they submit the forms?”
“We heard on radio stations this morning, that the Chairman of the Rivers State ward congress, Josiah Dogo, is saying that he conducted ward congress in Rivers State. If he did, then, where are the result sheets?” A former Commissioner in Rivers State, Marcus Eneji, from Eleme local government area, regretted that party members who had paid for nomination forms went to the APC secretariat, on Wednesday and Friday to collect their forms but were told to wait for the nomination forms that never came.”
“Our supporters who went to collect nomination forms where intimidated, harassed, brutalised and arrested by security agents. We are appealing to the president to call the minister of transportation and the security agencies to order.” Eneji fumed: “As I speak, about 40 of our supporters who went to the party secretariat were brutalised, arrested and detained by the Police. I have never seen any electoral guideline that provides for SARS to provide security at party offices, wards and polling units during elections.”
Former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Worgu Boma, stated that the Chairman of the APC in Rivers State, Chief Davis Ibi-Ikanya, informed stakeholders who have come to inquire on preparations for the ward congress that he had received the electoral materials.”
He wondered: “So, if he received the materials on Wednesday, May 2, how come he did not give out the nomination forms to contestants who had paid for them even as at Saturday, May 5, when the ward congress was scheduled to hold?”
Boms charged: “The problem is that Amaechi has sworn in his dream and in his physical life that Senator Magnus Abe will never be governor of Rivers State on the platform of the APC. If the former governor truly believes that he is far more popular than Abe, why, then, is he afraid to allow for a free, fair and credible ward congress? Why must he subject the party to so much agony because he does not want Abe to be governor?”
Boms recalled: “The minister of transportation sent me a text on my phone saying I am no longer his friend because I attended a wedding where Senator Abe was chairman. It was the wedding of Amaechi’s pastor, Sam Eke, whom I knew through Amaechi. He was invited for the event but did not honour the invitation because he did not want to meet with Abe. What brand of politics is that?”
A former Commissioner, Dr. Ipalibo Harry, said it is “unspeakable and despicable for Amaechi to subject party members to such measure of pain and agony because he is averse to the governorship ambition of Senator Abe.”
“Some contestants in the riverine communities travelled by boat on water for up to two, and even three hours to Port Harcourt to pick up their forms only to be denied, beaten up and harassed by personnel of the Federal Anti-Robbery Squad, F-SARS. We only heard the voice of the electoral committee chairman on radio, on Sunday, May 6, claiming that he conducted ward congress in 319 wards in Rivers State. He should be ashamed of himself. What will he tell his family?”
According to majority of the members of the SEC in Rivers State chapter of the APC, Chief Ibiamu-Ikanya and the Publicity Secretary, Chris Finebone, deliberately shut them out from participating in the ward congress. Deputy Chairman, Chief Peter Odike; Legal Adviser, Chieme Azubike; State Auditor. Hyacinth Oparadike; Youth Leader, Paul Agiobu; State Welfare Secretary, Ogieze Boms, among others, were not informed about events that later transpired.
According to Odike: “Amaechi hijacked the materials and took them to Intel’s camp. He was there with the state chairman and publicity secretary. The Legal adviser said he and other state officers of the party arrived the secretariat at about 5.25pm, on Friday, to distribute the nomination forms but was surprised that the chairman was not around.
“I called the minister of transportation and told him there were no electoral materials. I also informed him that contestants were thronging the secretariat very agitated because the ward congress was scheduled to commence at 9.am, Saturday, May 5.” Amaechi expressed surprise that nomination forms and electoral materials were yet to be distributed to the wards. He asked me to call the chairman of the party and I told him Chief Ibiamu-Ikanya was not picking his calls. It was later we realised that the chairman and the publicity secretary were with him at the Intel’s camp were they were planning to ensure that the ward congress did not hold.”
Azubike queried: “How come the electoral materials which the chairman assured us had arrived the state, on Wednesday, May 2, were not distributed to the wards as at Friday, May 4? How come there were no electoral materials at the wards on Saturday, May 5?”
He declared: “Amaechi and his cohorts will meet us at the Appeals Panel because there are standard procedure for any given election and all these provisions were clearly breached by the Rivers State ward congress committee.”
“The exercise was hijacked to provoke conflict and discord in the party for very selfish reasons. Members of SEC were effectively locked out of the Intel’s camp were Amaechi presided over his vicious plan. And the electoral committee as required by the electoral guidelines did not address stakeholders 24 hours to the ward congress. All rules were broken by Amaechi.”
