Election Results Were Written In My Office – Rivers APC Chieftain Exposes
The All Progressives Congress (APC) caretaker chairman in Rivers State, Tony Okocha, has revealed that local government area election results conducted in the state when he was the Chief of Staff, were written in his office and handed over to the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC).
Okocha, who made the revelation during a press briefing on Tuesday also revealed that the SIEC, local government election tribunal and the appeal court were all given handouts specifying what they should do.
Okocha, who served as Chief of State under former Governor Rotimi Amaechi in the state said that though the Supreme Court had granted local governments full financial autonomy, there are still a lot to be done including scrapping the State Independent Electoral Commission by the National Assembly.
He said, “It is only in Rivers State that persons flaunt themselves and call themselves caretaker whatever.
“I was told that one of them that was appointed caretaker chairman was boasting that the revenue of the council from the federal allocation would still come to him that he would manage.
“There are still a lot to do. The issue of election should no longer be the responsibility of the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) because the system is already skewed.
“The governors will still use it as another means of getting back what they think they have lost.
“They formed the SIEC in Rivers State and gave them handout. I was the Cheif of Staff, I gave handouts.
“Elections could be written inside the Chief of Staff’s office. It was done so in my time. We did so. We write the results and hand them over to the commission and their own business is to go and announce.
“After announcing the results, if you feel aggrieved, it will be presented before the tribunal. The tribunal are set up by the state government, they also have their own handout.
“The appeal to whatever decision the tribunal takes is at the state high court. They also have their handout. What else will you do? You will accept fate, and it is the reason why in all the states where they have conducted elections, all the positions were won by the governor’s own party.
“Does that suggest democracy? It doesn’t. We are therefore pleading with the national assembly to immediately, either by resolution or howsoever, remove the election of local government leadership from the hand of the State Independent Electoral Commission.
“Let INEC, a body saddled with conduct of elections be responsible for all elections in Nigeria.”
