HUNDREDS of members of the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress APC, this morning took over the state office of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC in Port Harcourt, demanding the relisting of the party’s candidates for the elections.
The protesters who were led by Oji Ngofa, Nigerian Ambassador to the Netherlands and the candidate representing the APC in the Rivers South-East Senatorial District blocked the traffic on the Port Harcourt-Aba expressway as well as the INEC office refusing anyone from either entering or leaving the office.
They demanded that the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Oboh Effanga address them.
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The REC later addressed them assuring them that the Commission would meet on their demand and thereafter act on whatever decision arrived at the meeting. But he was still refused entry into the office forcing him to enter his car and left the place.
After Effanga’s address, the protesters insisted on remaining at the office until the end of the INEC meeting and the names of the candidates were put on the ballot paper.
This made the security agencies comprising the army, police and Civil Defence to fire canisters of tear gas into air forcing the protesters as well as on-lookers to scamper away from the place.
The reaction of the state leadership of the APC was still being awaited from a proposed press conference as at the time of filing in this report.
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