Okotie rejects election results, seeks interim govt

HDP urges calm

THE presidential candidate of the Fresh Democratic Party (FRESH), Rev. Chris Okotie, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cancel the presidential election and nullify its result.

But rather than resort to violence over the result of the presidential election, the Hope Democratic Party (HDP) has appealed to Nigerians to remain calm.

HDP presidential candidate, Ambrose Owuru, told The Guardian in Port Harcourt that political parties had assumed that the era of rigging was over, but the result of the presidential election, which led to widespread violence in the North, had shown that the case was different.

Okotie said the exercise was marred by gross irregularities and therefore, urged the immediate resignation of President Goodluck Jonathan and the composition of a broad-based Interim National Government (ING) to manage the affairs of the country since the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has failed to conduct free, fair and credible election.

According to him, “I reject the election and the result declared by INEC and therefore, called for a composition of Interim National Government. There is enough evidence to prove that PDP connived to manipulate the election.”

At a media briefing in Lagos yesterday, Okotie said the crisis in the northern part of the country was a reaction to the gross manipulation of the presidential election by PDP. “Though I am not justifying or supporting violence, the fact is that PDP caused the crisis and should be held responsible for it because of the scientific method it adopted in rigging and manipulating last Saturday presidential election in its favour,” he said.

He added that PDP had bastardised the economy of the nation in the last 12 years and the party was still holding unto power by all means. “If we agree that PDP won the presidential election, then it is Nigeria that lost, it is the future generations that lost, it is our growth and development that we lost. President Jonathan lacks what it takes to move the country forward, yet PDP still wants to hold unto power for another four years,” he said.

Owuru, on his part, alleged double thumb-printing, lack of accreditation in some areas, and said his party refused to endorse the final result released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) because it was dissatisfied with the outcome of the polls.

He accused the governors of the Niger Delta states and security agencies of conniving with INEC officials to manipulate the electoral process in favour of President Goodluck Jonathan’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which had been declared the winner of the poll.

“The result released confirms the Congress for Progressive Change’s (CPC) claim about result from the South-South. The government has merely fooled the international community and Nigerians who were looking forward to free and fair election,” he said.

According to him, “this is a government-sponsored rigging aided by the police and INEC officials. There was no proper accreditation. There was double thumb-printing. The state governors have promised to deliver 100 per cent vote to Jonathan without recourse to the voters. This is unfortunate.”

The HDP regretted that Nigerians had worked so hard to have a free, fair and credible elections, but their hopes had been dashed because of the level of desperation on the part of the PDP which was bent on holding on to power at all cost.

Owuru noted that in as much as every Nigerian desired peace, the perpetrations of electoral fraud remain a potent threat to the peace and stability of the country.

Owuru, whose party scored 319 votes in the presidential election in Rivers State where he hails from, said the outcome of the election had already been pre-empted by governors of the South-South region, who promised to deliver 100 per cent votes for President Jonathan long before the conduct of the election.

He told The Guardian that the election was characterised by the intimidation of his supporters in Port Harcourt City Ward 2, 3, 4 and 19.

He also alleged that most of his agents were arrested and locked up by the police to prevent them from interfering in the rigging of the election.