A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has commended the people of Rivers State for boycotting what he described as a sham local government election conducted on Saturday.
Eze expressed confidence that the courts would eventually nullify the exercise, which, according to him, was managed by a team unlawfully appointed by the state’s Sole Administrator, Ibok-Ette Ibas.
In a statement, he said the electorate’s rejection of the poll amounted to a clear stand against political illegality. He noted that only 23 chairmanship candidates, all loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, took part in the election.
Eze alleged that the result sheets for all polling units in the state were hijacked and kept in a private hotel in Port Harcourt, where figures were allocated to candidates.
He urged the public to disregard what he called “cooked-up trash being circulated as election results,” insisting that no voting actually took place.
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“It is pathetic to learn that in Emohua, Ikwerre, Obio-Akpor, Port Harcourt City and other local government areas where voters shunned the charade, the results churned out by the electoral body manned by this unlawful team led by the man from Cross River indicate that the 23 chairmanship contestants scored votes in tens and hundreds of thousands,” he said.
Eze further claimed that video evidence from some communities in Emohua showed RSIEC ad-hoc staff thumb-printing ballot papers for the APC, even though no voters turned up at the polling units. He said it was on this basis that a factional APC chairmanship candidate, Chidi Lloyd, was declared winner with more than 100,000 votes.
“For an uncontested election to be this manipulated, it clearly shows that Wike has never won any election in his political life,” Eze declared.
The APC chieftain also recalled that Wike lost his polling unit to the Labour Party during the 2023 presidential election and failed to deliver votes for President Bola Tinubu.
He alleged, however, that results were altered at the collation centre to favour the ruling party.
Rafiyat Sadiq is a political, justice, and human rights reporter with Pinnacle Daily, known for fearless reporting and impactful storytelling. At Pinnacle Daily, she brings clarity and depth to issues shaping governance, democracy, and the protection of citizens’ rights.
