Rivers rerun: Wike accuses INEC of releasing APC-dominated ad hoc staff list 

GOVERNOR Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of releasing a list containing members of the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as adhoc staff to conduct the December 10 legislative rerun election in the state.

The governor, in a statement issued by his media aide, Simeon Nwakaudu, on Thursday, further alleged that the list consisted mainly of APC ward chairmen and ward secretaries as Assistant Presiding Officers (APOs), charged Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members to, from next Thursday till the conclusion of the rerun election, resist politically-engineered arrests.

Wike, who presented the alleged fake INEC to PDP supporters in Bodo in Gokana Local Government Area, said he was shocked that the electoral umpire could allegedly publish a list of adhoc staff, fraught with such level of fraud, but assured that INEC and her sponsors would be resisted.

He said it was unfortunate that INEC and security agencies were disregarding the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari that they should be impartial and deliver free and fair elections.

“INEC has released a fake list of adhoc staff for the rerun election before the conclusion of their mandatory training. Majority of those on the list are known APC ward chairmen and ward secretaries who are mainly unemployed, but listed by INEC as staff of the University of Port Harcourt.

“They think that my love for peace is a sign of weakness, but I want to declare that enough is enough. We are supposed to be under an era of change, but the love for fraud by INEC and police is unprecedented.

Efforts to get the reaction of INEC to the allegation proved abortive, as the state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr Aniedi Ikoiwak, did not respond to a message sent to his mobile phone, as at the time of going to the press.