ELECTIONS: APC Chairman, Others Take To The Streets (Photos)
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom state has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cancel Saturday’s polls in the state.
APC chieftains and members of the party took to the streets of Uyo, the state capital.
They are marching towards the office of INEC in a peaceful protest and are insisting the electoral body is about to announce a rigged election result in the state.
The protest is been led by the APC Governorship candidate in the State, Umana Okon Umana and the state APC chairman, Dr. Amadu Attai, alongside armed police and soldiers.
According to the APC chairman, after a review of the field reports on the elections across the state, the elections should be cancelled because they were not conducted in line with the guidelines issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the conduct of elections, The Nation reports.
The party is calling for a fresh poll to be conducted and for the redeployment of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Austin Okojie, from the state.
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Apart from the irregularities recorded in the elections, the party also claimed that six of its members were killed by suspected Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) thugs through the assistance of the security agencies.
The chairman explained that APC agents who have been to the collation centres cannot find any INEC officials or trace their locations.
According to APC, thumb printing of ballot papers and collation of results were ongoing in the houses of the following government officials, Aniekan Umana, commissioner for information, in Abak; Governor Akpabio’s country home in Ukana; Don Etim, Commissioner for Works in Ikot Ekpene; Emmanuel Enoidom, commissioner for special duties in Etim Ekpo; Enobong Uwah, commissioner for environment in Uyo; Senator Effiong Bob in Nsit Ubium, and Eno Akpan, Commissioner for Lands and Town Planning in Ukanafun.
According to the party, virtually in every polling unit in Uyo Senatorial District (USD), result sheets were not available.
The APC chairman said: “The elections were marred by other forms of irregularities. In Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area, the Commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs in the administration of Godswill Akpabio, Prince Uwem Ita Etuk, went around with policemen and thugs beating up and maiming people while carting away voting materials at almost every polling unit in the area.
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“Uwem Ita Etuk’s conduct during the elections is consistent with his threat of violence during in the lead-up to the elections. There were also widespread violence and other irregularities in polling units in Ukanafun, Ibiono Ibom, Nsit Atai, Uyo, Etinan, Obot Akara, Oruk Anam, Itu and other Local Government Areas across the state.
“In most parts of Ukanafun, INEC staff took sides and refused to be an umpire in the elections. In Unit 2 of Ward 10 in Ukanafun, INEC officials refused to record votes for the presidential candidate of the APC."
See more photos below:
Also in Rivers state, APC members took to the streets in protest of the Saturday elections, calling for a cancellation. They described the elections as electoral fraud.
The governor of the state, Rotimi Amaechi had earlier said no elections held in the state. He accused the electoral commissioner in charge of state of deliberately truncating the electoral process in the state so as to favour President Goodluck Jonathan.
However, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dame Gesilia Khan, on Sunday night said elections held in the 23 local government areas of the state.
Source: Legit.ng
