Ahead of the governorship and House of Assembly elections on Saturday, 16 political parties under the auspices of Coalition of Political Parties in Rivers state yesterday converged on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters in Abuja, demanding the removal of the Resident Electoral Commission (REC), Ms Gesilia Khan.
According to the coalition, the protest to remove the REC followed an earlier petition to the INEC headquarters by the same group on the need to cancel and reschedule the March 28 presidential and National Assembly Elections on the grounds that INEC in collusion with PDP in the state compromised the process of the election.
Armed with another petition, the protesters insisted that the March 28 election was a charade and “not one guided by the laws and regulations guiding the process,” saying that “the perpetrators were emboldened and encouraged by the assurance that nothing would happen to them by way of punishment.”
The political parties’ coalition accused the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Ms Gesilia Khan, of being “hand in gloves with the perpetrators of the activities that led to the impugning the integrity of the election,” saying that without her complicity the subversion of the electoral process would not have been possible.
Among the 18-point allegations levelled against the REC, the group claimed Ms Khan took over the postings of the INEC’s ad-hoc staff and recruitment of Supervisory Presiding officers and Collation Officers which included known PDP members.
They also alleged that “the presiding officers who were well trained were substituted with a list containing names of PDP members submitted to the REC by Nyesom Wike, the governorship candidate of PDP,” accusing the REC to have encouraged some PDP members to impersonate as corps members.
The petition alleged that some of the corps members who turned up for the election were paid off and asked to go home citing one of such corps member, identified as Kabee Kpaa, who was posted as a collation officer to Ward 1 Omoku in Ogba-Egbema/Ndoni local government area of Rivers state.
The petition further stated: “The acts of Ms Khan are all over the streets and markets of Rivers state. Keeping her in the state is as good as just announcing names of winners before the election because that is what she will do in the state.”
Responding, INEC’s Director of Security, Malam Shetima Ngilada, who received the protesters, thanked them for being orderly and assured them that their letter would be submitted to the INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega.