Rivers State Governor,\u00a0 Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has declared that the major
\nchallenges that characterised the 2019 General Elections would have been
\naverted if President Muhammadu Buhari had assented to the amended
\nElectoral Act.<\/p>\n
Speaking during a Courtesy Visit by the Political Team from the British
\nHigh Commission at the Government House Port Harcourt on Tuesday,
\nGovernor Wike said that the amended Electoral Act will legitimise the
\ncard reader and strengthen the process of result Collation.<\/p>\n
He said: “If the President had assented to the amended Electoral Act,
\nwe wouldn’t have had the kind of problem we had.<\/p>\n
“That means that there must be card reader in the Electoral Process. In
\nthat case, it makes it difficult for security agencies who want to
\ncommit electoral fraud to succeed “.<\/p>\n
The Governor said that with the card reader given legal teeth, it would
\nplay a key role\u00a0 in the results that would emerge and discourage
\nviolence.<\/p>\n
“With the card reader, results that don’t\u00a0 tally with accredited figures
\nin the device will not be accepted.\u00a0 Since the card reader is not in the
\nlaw, it creates the loopholes for them to manipulate.<\/p>\n
“They created the room where some security agencies tried to force
\nReturning Officers to sign\u00a0 result sheets.\u00a0 Remember in Rivers State,
\nthe Army took over the INEC Headquarters.\u00a0 The essence of that was to
\nsee that the Returning Officers were hijacked for fraudulent\u00a0 purposes.<\/p>\n
“But if the card reader was legitimised in the Electoral Act, it would
\nnot have been possible,\u00a0 because the only acceptable result would be the
\none that tallies with the Card Reader.\u00a0 I have always said to Mr
\nPresident that in the interest of the country,\u00a0 let us do the right
\nthing.\u00a0 Let us not politicise everything “, he said<\/p>\n
While saying that the amended Electoral Act when signed into law will
\nrestore confidence in the Electoral System,\u00a0 Governor Wike called for
\nthe de-militarization of the nation’s democracy.<\/p>\n
He said: “We should reduce the militarisation during elections.\u00a0 It is
\nunfortunate that instead of Police,\u00a0 the Army\u00a0 takes over our elections,
\nwith flimsy excuses.<\/p>\n
“What happened\u00a0 in Rivers State is an eye-opener.\u00a0 Bringing in the Army
\nevery time is not the solution.\u00a0 The police should be allowed to do
\ntheir job. INEC should be truly independent.<\/p>\n
“In the case of Rivers State,\u00a0 we must commend INEC for being assertive.
\nIf they were not assertive,\u00a0 I don’t\u00a0 know where we would have been”.<\/p>\n
Governor Wike urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to be
\ntruly Independent,\u00a0 adding that the appointment of INEC leadership
\nshould not\u00a0 completely be in the hands of the Federal Government as
\nsuggested by the Uwais report.<\/p>\n
The Governor said that the issues of security should not be politicised
\nas is the case. He noted that politicisation of security has led to
\ninsecurity\u00a0 in all states of the Federation.<\/p>\n
He said that Rivers State\u00a0 has suffered the politicisation of security
\nas the Nigerian Army clamped down on the State Neighbourhood Safety
\nCorps Agency at its training site at the NYSC Camp,\u00a0 even though the
\nAgency was modeled after that of Lagos State.\u00a0 He noted that the Rivers
\nState Government will go ahead with the Neighbourhood Safety Corps
\nAgency and urged the British Government to provide technical support.<\/p>\n
Governor Wike stated that State Police is key to tackling insecurity
\nacross the country.<\/p>\n
“But before the implementation of State Police, the revenue sharing
\nformula of the country must be reviewed.\u00a0 The Federal Government should
\nhave less resources because\u00a0 they have lesser responsibilities “, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Governor Wike reiterated that oil bunkering is fueled by the connivance
\nand participation of security agencies.<\/p>\n
“Security agencies are involved in oil bunkering.\u00a0 That is why you see
\nso many security agents struggling to be posted to the Niger Delta.\u00a0 Oil
\nbunkering has negatively affected our security\u00a0 and\u00a0 environment”, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
In his remarks,\u00a0 the Deputy Head of Political Section\/First Secretary,
\nBritish High Commission,\u00a0 Stuart Gardner congratulated Governor Wike on
\nhis well deserved victory, noting that the British Government was
\ninterested in his views on the 2019 General Elections.<\/p>\n
He regretted that the last elections\u00a0 were marred by violence and said
\nthat steps must be taken to stem\u00a0 the tide of violence during the 2023
\nElections.<\/p>\n
Rivers State Governor,\u00a0 Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has declared that the major challenges that characterised the 2019 General Elections would have been averted if President Muhammadu Buhari had assented to the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n