The All Progressives Congress has frowned at the petition written to President Muhammadu Buhari by the 16 Peoples Democratic Party federal lawmakers from Rivers State over the River State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal.
It described the petition as “deceitful, obstructionist and provocative,” adding that those who were blatantly obstructing the course of justice were the same ones portraying themselves as victims.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said despite the order from the tribunal, the Rivers PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission had colluded to ensure that the Rivers APC did not get the Certified True Copies of requested documents or inspect the electoral materials used for the governorship poll.
He said, “Because we are a law-abiding party, unlike the PDP and their flagrant INEC collaborators, we reported this to the tribunal, which then said it was not up to it to enforce the order given earlier. This was why we reported to the security agencies, especially the police and the Department of State Services.
“Even though the police IG intervened to ensure that the order of the tribunal was carried out, the Rivers INEC still refused.
“This was why the DSS, seeking to prevent a breakdown of law and order that could result from the intransigence of the Rivers INEC, invited the obstructionists to impress it upon them to carry out the order of the tribunal. Despite these efforts, the order has still not been complied with till today.”
He denied that the military was being used to intimidate anyone, saying the party only subpoenaed the soldiers who played a major role in the elections not only in Rivers but in the entire Niger Delta region – in view of the violence unleashed by the PDP on APC supporters before, during and after the elections.
“Nigerians can now see that there is no truth whatsoever in the petition written by the Rivers PDP senators and House of Representatives members that the DSS and the military were being used to obstruct justice. What the petitioners are seeking to do is to pull the wool over the eyes of Nigerians,’’ Mohammed said in the statement.
He added that it was an open secret that the PDP rigged the elections not only in Rivers State but also in Akwa Ibom State, where he alleged that the party and the state INEC have also refused to allow the APC to have access to electoral materials.
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