Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
Rivers Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, has dismissed the reason given by the Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission for disqualifying its candidate, Tonye Alalibo, for Akuku-Toru Constituency 2 from participating in the re-run election in Rivers State.
PDP said INEC was merely acting a script written by the rival All Progressive Congress, APC,to disqualify and pave way for its candidate to win.
RECRivers State, Mr. Aniedi Ikoiwak, had stated that the commission acted in compliance with the judgments of the Election Tribunal and Court of Appeal.
But the State Chairman of the Party, Felix Obuah, said the Commission was only making efforts to deceive the public when it does not have any evidence to justify its action.
The PDP Chairman in a statement signed by Jerry Needam, his Media Aide flayed the action of the Commission and accused it of compromise in dealing with the issue.
Obuah said that there was no court judgment to show that both the Party and its candidate were excluded from participating in the Election as alleged by the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the State, Mr. Aniedi Ikoiwak.
Obuah challenged Mr. Ikoiwak to make public any of such evidences to justify his action.
Otherwise, he asked the Commission to reverse its decision and declare the PDP candidate, Alalibo, who scored the highest number of votes winner, to demonstrate its professed neutrality and uprightness.
“The State Party Chairman maintains that no Election Petition Tribunal or Appeal Court has right to disqualify any candidate, when the issue of disqualification was not part of the subject matter before them, and that INEC on its part lacks power to disqualify the PDP candidate, wondering where such disqualification came from, if not being induced by the All Progressives Congress.
“The PDP emphasizes that the judgments of both the Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal in its possession do not contain the claim by the INEC REC. The Party therefore, advises Mr. Ikoiwak to again go through the judgments, if he truly has the authentic copies”.
*Okafor Ofiebor can be reached at:okaforofiebor@yahoo.com