The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) supporters in Rivers on Monday stormed the secretariat of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to demand that all parties interested in filing petitions against elections in the state must only be allowed to inspect the electoral materials jointly.
The protesters, who were holding placards caused heavy traffic that trapped motorists on the Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway.
They also insisted that INEC must release Certified True Copies (CTC) of electoral materials used in the February 25 and March 18, 2023 elections in Rivers State to the PDP to enable the party to defend its victory at the tribunal.
The protesters carried placards with various inscriptions like:
”No one party should be allowed to inspect materials alone,”
“Police and INEC want to instigate crisis in the state,”
“We want Certified True Copies (CTC), to defend our mandates,” among others.
One of the leaders of the protesters, Samuel Nwanosike, who is also the Chairman of the Ikwerre Local Government Council area said it is within the rights of PDP to get the documents it requires to defend the mandate it secured during the just concluded elections.
Also the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC),
Tonye Cole also staged a protest with the supporters of APC at INEC office.
He accused INEC of frustrating the efforts of lawyers engaged by the party to access vital documents needed to challenge the victory of the PDP at the election tribunal.
The lawyers were arrested in a hotel in Port Harcourt on Sunday, where they were preparing petitions they were planning to file against elections in Rivers State.
The lawyers were later released by the police on Monday with the documents seized returned to the party.
Rivers APC governorship candidate, Tonye Cole accused the state government of using Police to intimidate political opponents.
