*Condemn electoral petitions at tribunal

Gesila Khan, middle, commended for a ‘good job’

In contrast to the general perception of  the Rivers State general election as flawed, a group of  candidates  under the aegis of Coalition of 2015 Governorship Candidates (CGC), have described the conduct of the 2015 governorship election in the state as “credible, free and fair.’’

They made the commendation on Thursday in Port Harcourt when they paid courtesy call on Dame Gesila Khan, INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state.

President of the group, Mr Akuro Parker, said that the conduct of the gubernatorial election in the state was satisfactory.

Parker, who was the gubernatorial candidate of the United Progressive Party (UPP), called for synergy among politicians particularly governorship candidates to promote peace in the state.

Describing the conduct of the election as peaceful, Parker urged Rivers people to support the administration of Chief Nyesom Wike.

“It is wasteful to go the tribunal; we need to come together to promote love and unity in Rivers.

“Above all, we are duty bound to partner with the governor to drive development and progress in the state,’’ he said.

The UPP gubernatorial candidate condemned the embarrassment meted out to the REC by Department of State Security (DSS).

He explained that Khan displayed the `highest level of managerial ingenuity’ in the conduct of the 2015 general elections, which he said, required commendation instead of condemnation.

Also speaking, Mr Kemka Elenwo, the gubernatorial candidate of KOWA party, described the guber election as “one of the most credible election’ in the history of Rivers.

He said that the governorship candidates would continue to uphold the unity and integrity of the state by appreciating the good works of INEC and the administration of Gov. Wike

In her response, Khan, thanked the candidates for appreciating her efforts in delivering credible elections.

She said that INEC under her watch put everything in place to avert bloodshed during the elections in the state.

The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Dakuku Peterside is challenging the election of Governor Nyesom Wike at the tribunal.

It is not clear whether the politicians and Ms Gesila Khan could be charged with contempt at the Tribunal for comments that appear to undermine, the various cases at the tribunal. Kemka Elenwo initially filed a petition against Wike.Clearly, he must have withdrawn his case.

Rivers state has 51 petitions at the both the Governorship and legislative tribunals, the highest in the country.