[ad_1]
The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Tonye Cole on Monday stated he was assaulted by thugs of the Peoples Democratic Occasion (PDP) on the workplace of the Impartial Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC) in Port Harcourt.
Mr Cole who was at INEC workplace to acquire paperwork to lodge a petition towards INEC’s declaration of Siminialayi Fubara because the winner of the 18 March governorship election within the state, Channels TV reported.
Mr Fubara, who was a candidate of the PDP, scored 302,614 votes, whereas Mr Cole got here second with 95,274 votes, in keeping with INEC.
Mr Cole had rejected the election end result and vowed to problem it on the tribunal.
He instructed Channels tv that he was attacked by PDP thugs who prevented him and his group from accessing INEC workplace on Monday.
Mr Cole and a few leaders of the APC within the state stormed the INEC workplace final Friday and threatened to return on Monday if the fee didn’t furnish them with paperwork wanted to lodge a case on the Election Petition Tribunal.
Narrating his ordeal, Mr Cole stated, “We’re alleged to be in a democracy and one of many tenets of democracy is that after an election, INEC being supposedly an neutral umpire may have paperwork and these paperwork can be found to everyone who participated within the election. These are vital paperwork which after we take to an electoral tribunal, we’ll construct our case upon that to the electoral tribunal.
“On Friday, we had been at INEC, and we requested for these paperwork, however they haven’t given us a single one. We stated we had been coming again immediately (Monday) and since we stated we’re coming again immediately, the PDP organised thugs in every single place to forestall us from attending to the INEC workplace.
“I wasn’t deterred and so I went with my occasion chairman, the ladies chief, the youth chief, and senior officers of the APC to the INEC workplace.
“They’d barricaded the highway from GRA Junction, in every single place boys, ladies. They started to assault me, I got here out and a lady started to pull my shirt, they pulled me from the again, first, they had been throwing water then they started to throw meals and the subsequent minute they began throwing stones.
“The subsequent factor after that, we began listening to gunshots, it took my safety folks to forcefully evict me. They destroyed our automobiles, they injured me. They slapped me, they punched me, they pulled my shirt, they dragged me after which threw stones at me till I used to be injured within the again,” he stated.
READ ALSO: Why PDP misplaced governorship election in Abia – Gov Ikpeazu
Mr Cole stated they ran to the APC workplace for security however the thugs adopted them to the occasion workplace.
Talking additional, Mr Cole urged INEC and the Inspector Normal of Police, Usman Baba to intervene, including that the Rivers State governorship tribunal can not maintain within the state with the present occasions.
Tonye Cole enjoying to gallery – PDP
The PDP, PREMIUM TIMES understands, had staged a protest to the INEC workplace within the state on Monday demanding a joint inspection of election supplies with the APC.
The PDP protesters on the INEC workplace had been led by Samuel Nwanosike, Chairman of Ikwerre Native Authorities Space and Edison Ehie, the Deputy Speaker of the State Meeting.
PREMIUM TIMES couldn’t attain Messrs Nwanosike and Ehie for feedback on the time of submitting this report.
However the occasion spokesperson within the state, Sydney Gbara, instructed this newspaper that Mr Cole having misplaced the governorship election was “enjoying to the gallery for folks to know he really contested”.
Mr Gbara stated the INEC workplace is a public workplace, and queried why Mr Cole and his folks got here on Monday once they knew the PDP had been there.
“Ordinarily for peace to reign, we had needed to go there on Friday however we stated the APC had been there we left it for peace to reign. At this time we had been there and also you (APC) got here there. That’s the man who stated he needs to manipulate Rivers State however this is similar one that is searching for each means to forment bother,” he stated.
Mr Gbara stated the PDP needs to witness the inspection of election supplies by each political occasion within the state to “stop the subversion of the mandate of the folks of the state”.
Assist PREMIUM TIMES’ journalism of integrity and credibility
Good journalism prices some huge cash. But solely good journalism can guarantee the opportunity of a great society, an accountable democracy, and a clear authorities.
For continued free entry to the very best investigative journalism within the nation we ask you to contemplate making a modest help to this noble endeavour.
By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you might be serving to to maintain a journalism of relevance and guaranteeing it stays free and out there to all.
Donate
TEXT AD: Name Willie – +2348098788999
[ad_2]
Source link