DEFYING what he considered to be threats to his life, Bayelsa Resident
Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr. Baritor Kpagih, has revealed that he was
offered money by certain interests to skew the stateís governorship
election in favour of their candidate. He disclosed that his refusal to be
bribed had pitted them against him.
In an exclusive interview with The Guardian, Kpagih said that he had been
receiving threats to his life since the cancellation of the Southern Ijaw
Local Council poll results. Also, he denied a personal relationship with
former President Goodluck Jonathan, noting that both of them were not in
the Nigeria Customs at the same time.
The Bayelsa REC said that election should not be seen as a do-or-die
affair, but rather, as a call to service. He told The Guardian: ìSome
people tried to bribe me to help them win the governorship election and
this itself was a misconception by these individuals. This is because
there is no way I can help anybody win an election. Mine was to oversee
the process. I canít falsify results, because they only come to the head
office after they have been collated at all other levels. I only stay in
the situation room and oversee collation.íí
He said those who had approached him to swing the election in their favour
were now persecuting him and spreading all sorts of false stories about
him.
ëëI believe it was those who had tried to bribe me before to help them rig
the election that are now behind all sorts of stories, being bandied
around about me. My refusal had infuriated them and they started by saying
I was missing and that I have gone underground and all sorts of stories.
People should not take election as a do-or-die affair. I told them, I
canít help them to rig the election and that they should use the money
they wanted to bribe me with to go to the grassroots and canvass for the
peopleís votes,î he said.
On the threats to his life, Kpagih said they started after the election,
but that they had become more frequent in the last few days.
ëëSomebody called me on the phone and threatened me and since then, I have
been receiving all sorts of threats. These have come through text messages
and others. Just on Thursday, two strange people visited my house in
Yenagoa. They refused to identify themselves but told my people that they
had an appointment with me and I knew for a fact that I didnít have any
appointment with anybody that day.
ìQuite a number of people who are my friends have advised me to avoid all
the hassles and stay away from Bayelsa State because my safety cannot be
guaranteed. But I have a job to do and I am going to see it through,íí he
said.
On his alleged relationship with Jonathan, the Ogoni-born electoral boss
said he joined the Customs Service a few years after Jonathan had left the
service and that at no time were they ever course mates.
He wondered why people would want to malign his character, just because he
had decided to ìfly straight.î
He advised politicians, ëëto concentrate on what is expected to be done
within the framework of the law and Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) guidelines for elections.
ëëI joined the customs service as a graduate, while Dr. Jonathan joined as
a School Certificate holder. He left the service around 1977 to go to the
university. I also went to the university in the same year and after
graduation, I joined the service, while he did not return to the service.
ëëThe first time I met him was when he was the vice president and we never
had any close relationship. I was retired prematurely, seven years before
the mandatory year. If he was my close friend and he was the vice
president, wouldnít he have helped me to stay in service?íí he queried.
On the violence that greeted the governorship polls, Kpagih said that
people should look into the root causes of the violent clashes, instead of
looking for scapegoats to heap blame on.
ëëWhat keeps baffling me is the fact that up till now, nobody is talking
about the arms and ammunition that were used to wreak violence on the
people. Nobody is looking into how the arms got into Southern Ijaw and who
brought them into the area. They were freely deployed into the communities
and nobody is talking about those things,íí he added.
The Guardian