Govenor
Nyesom Wike of Rivers state has stated that the state would have witnessed
violence if the All Progressives Congress (APC) participated in Saturday’s
local government election.
He commended
the State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) for the successful conduct
of the polls.
Wike made
the commendation in an interview with newsmen shortly after monitoring the
election in Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor Local Government Areas.
According to
a statement by Simeon Nwakaudu, his media aide, the governor also commended the
security agencies for creating the right atmosphere and ensuring that the
elections were peaceful.
He said:
“Sixty-six out of 68 political parties participated, but no violence. That
means that if APC had participated, probably we would have seen violence.
“Sixty-six
political parties, no violence, no shooting, nobody has died.
“But, if the
APC had participated, they would want to coerce security agencies, they would
do all manner of negative things like bringing cultists to shoot.
“You can see
that nobody hijacked materials. Everything has been peaceful.’’
The governor
also noted that the security agencies played their constitutional roles during
the elections.
“I have
called the heads of security agencies and commended them for a job well done.
That is what I have always said – allow people to vote for those they want,” he
said.
Wike said
that the message to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was
that they could conduct credible elections if they resisted pressures from
different quarters.
“INEC can be
committed to do the right thing; once they build confidence, every other thing
will move on smoothly.
“We have
gone round two local government areas; the elections went on peacefully and
they were credible. Election materials arrived on time, except for a few
places.
“Like this, nobody will complain. Observers
from across the board have commended the process,” Wike said.
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