Governorship elections held in Rivers, A/Ibom states, PDP insists

By OKUNADE ADEKUNLE

The Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) governors have insisted that contrary to opinion in some quarters, governorship elections were actually held in both AkwaIbom and Rivers states during the last elections.

The governors insisted that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had already said that elections were held in the two states and that the PDP won.

Governorship candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the two states are however contesting the PDP victory.

The candidates and their party are currently arguing their case before the Election Petition Tribunals set up to adjudicate in the matter.

But the PDP governors, in a statement released in Abuja, yesterday, and signed by the Coordinator of the Forum, Mr. Osaro Onaiwu, said INEC, which is the legally authorised agency that conducts elections in the country, has already said that after investigations, credible elections were held in Rivers State.

The governors said the outcome of the Akwa Ibom governorship election should not be a surprise to anyone as the last PDP governor performed well and that the people of the state had no reason to change course.

The PDP Governors’ Forum lamented the abuse of freedom of speech by what it described as self-acclaimed observer groups who made spurious allegations about the elections to please their sponsors.

The statement called on the security agencies to reign in on these groups, saying they were capable of disrupting the peace with their utterances.

It also decried the boastings of the APC to take both Akwa Ibom‎ and Rivers states through the electoral tribunal, noting, “The only attraction for the APC is what they perceive as the premium revenues of the two states.”

The governors, via the statement, also declared that any attempt to take the states through the back door will be stiffly resisted by their party (the PDP).

The statement called on the citizens of both states to protect their states from those it described as desperate political vultures who do not mean well for them.