A week and four days after the governorship and House of Assembly elections held across the country, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was yet to conclude the collation of results and announce a winner for the election in Rivers State.

The election umpire had suspended the elections in the state citing widespread violence and other disruptive activities and sent a fact-finding team to the state to engage stakeholders and report back to its national leadership on the way forward.

Upon the return of the fact-finding team, the commission issued a state midnight last Wednesday stating that it has established that there in fact disruptions in the electoral process but it has somehow taken custody of collated election results in 17 local government areas.

It further disclosed that it would on Wednesday, March 20, 2019 outline its next line of action thus keeping stakeholders in suspense.

Kristina Reports has, however, discovered that the quagmire the election process has encountered was actually created by officials of the commission. This has engendered a climate of distrust for the commission as most stakeholders now believe the process has been compromised and the already collated results tampered with.

First, among issues that have given life to the suspicion that the commission was stymied in a struggle for self-redemption was the suspension of the collation process. Legal experts have described INEC’s action as unknown to law.

One of them, a Port Harcourt based human rights activist, Higher King averred that INEC erred by suspending the electoral process, quoting Section 26 of the Electoral Act, which states that: “Where a date has been appointed for the holding of an election, and there is reason to believe that a serious breach of the peace is likely to occur if the election is proceeded with on that date or it is impossible to conduct the elections as a result of natural disasters or other emergencies, the commission may postpone the election and shall in respect of the postponed election, provided that such reason for the postponement is cogent and verifiable”.

He maintained that the two conditions precedent for the postponement of an election which are that a) “there is reason to believe that a serious breach of the peace is likely to occur if the election is proceeded with on that; and b) “it is impossible to conduct the elections as a result of natural disasters or other emergencies,” were nonexistent in the Rivers State case.

He further stated that the Electoral Act made no provision for the ‘suspension’ but for ‘postponement’ of an electoral process, advising the commission to go ahead to announce the results collated.

Secondly, the actions of its resident electoral commissioner, Obo Effanga, who allegedly appointed members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as collation/returning officers for the polls.

These include Professors Joyce Akaninwor and Wotogre Weneka, Dr Peter Medee, Dr Goodhope Igwe, Chizobam Azuonwu, Amos Iruenabere, Gbenekanu Mpigi, Ibiere Major Jack, and Given Wagbara.

When the identification of these individuals caused an uproar among the opposition parties and other stakeholders, Effanga quickly went on air to announce that four collation officers have been dismissed.

Curiously, the REC failed to name the affected collation officers. He also failed to say what happens to the results they have already collated whether they would be accommodated or rejected outrightly as demanded by aggrieved stakeholders.

Thirdly, there was an alleged invasion of the Obio/Akpor LGA collation centre by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, accompanied by his security details and allegedly over 200 thugs. Unconfirmed reports have it that Wike’s security details took along with them to Government House the collation and electoral officers along with the electoral materials including the original results sheets.

Two soldiers were said to have been injured – one shot at and another machete – and currently receiving treatment at various medical facilities in Port Harcourt.

Curiously, INEC omitted this outrageous incident in its report and went on to even indict the Nigerian Army of working with politicians to disrupt the polls. The Nigerian Army has since condemned INEC’s position.     

Another issue was INEC’s claim that it had in its custody the already collated results of 17 LGAs which contradicts it earlier claim that widespread violence was responsible for the suspension of the electoral process.

Concerned stakeholders have queried this claim.

Candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Awara Biokpomabo, who was said to be in an early lead before the suspension of the process, had called out INEC for deliberately misinforming the public. He argued that if there was widespread violence how and when did INEC collate the said 17 LGAs results?   

On his part, candidate of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Victor FIngesi called for outright cancelation of the election and conduct of a fresh poll citing tampering of the collated results as reason for his call.

Curiously, Wike had on his official Twitter handle been tweeting list of LGAs where results have been collated, a development that has further deepened suspicion on INEC’s credibility.