PORT HARCOURT – Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of River State has alleged that the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, has been putting pressure on the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs. Gesila Khan, to rig the Saturday, April 11, election in favour of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP.
Mrs. Jonathan arrived Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, on Wednesday, and later left for Okrika, her home town.
Governor Amaechi said that the First Lady has been holding series of meetings with senior officers in the security agencies, including the Resident Electoral Commissioner.
“The wife of the president has been holding series of meetings in her house aimed at influencing the outcome of the election.
“We will resist it. We will not allow what happened during the presidential election to happen again. Mrs. Jonathan cannot chose a governor for us. Rivers people have the right to choose who should be their governor”.
Governor Amaechi who addressed stakeholders, at the Dr. Obi Wali International Conference Centre, in Port Harcourt, wondered why the president’s wife was so interested in the governorship election, adding that she asked for the deployment of security men to Rivers State during the last election.
He stressed: “Let the wife of the president remain in her house. She should not force a candidate on us. We the people of Rivers State will decide who our next governor will be. The president’s wife brought militants back to Rivers State so that they can be used to rig election. We will chase away the militants after the election”.
Amaechi maintained that members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, will not vote if they don’t see the result sheets and this will apply to all the units and wards in the 23 local governments. He urged members and supporters of the APC to be very vigilant.
“We will not vote if we don’t see the result sheets. Ask the INEC officials for the result sheets. If they fail to produce it, then form a human ring round the INEC officials and together with the security men escort the ad-hoc staff to the local government headquarters and lodge your complains. But make sure nobody votes in any unit that cannot produce the original result sheets. We will not accept photocopies”.
Mr Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Transport
