Wike, APC trade blames over attack on INEC office

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has blamed Friday’s arson attack on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Bori, Khana Local Government Council, on politicians pressurising INEC to postpone the July 30 state and National Assembly rerun elections on the ground of security.

But in a swift reaction, the All Progressives Congress (APC), urged security agencies to hold the governor responsible for the arson, recalling that Wike had on Thursday, publicly threatened INEC, APC state chairman and Senator Magnus Abe.

However, the Rivers State Police Command said it has commenced investigation aimed at unraveling those behind the dastardly attack, which razed down the building and destroyed the electoral commission’s materials.

Governor Wike, who visited the scene of the attack in Bori, yesterday, in company of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Uche Anozie and some state government functionaries, contended that the arson should not serve as an excuse for the postponement of the rerun polls in Khana and seven other council areas of the state.

It would be recalled that INEC had before the attack, attributed the delay in the conduct of the rerun polls on security concerns, after the March 19, 2016 rerun was characterised by violence and electoral fraud.

The governor said it was preposterous, for some opposition politicians who are afraid of the rerun elections to go to the extent of burning down public facility to convince INEC that the rerun elections should be shifted.

While noting that no elections materials have been deposited at the office, Wike declared: “Those who burnt this office were not ready for the elections.  They don’t want INEC to conduct the elections, because they know that they don’t have the chances of winning.  They want to use the issue of security to justify the request for postponement. If not, INEC has not brought election materials to this office. What they have done is to scare INEC. For us, we are not surprised. We know this is what they have planned to do.”

The Khana Divisional Police Officer, Stephen Okunade, said there was no security at the INEC office at the time of the arson, pointing out that the only private security guard guarding the building was absent when the perpetrators attacked the building.