SDP Guber Candidate Urges INEC to Be Apolitical in Rivers 

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

Governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Rivers State, Senator Magnus Abe, has urged the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to be neutral and adhere to the rule of law in the 2023 general election in the state. Senator Abe, who revealed that his party members were facing series of attacks in the state, told INEC to follow procedures of the commission as published, saying that the will of the Rivers people should be established and determined.

 The SDP guber candidate spoke yesterday in a chat with journalists in Port Harcourt, capital of the state.

Abe, who noted that the state was already on a tender box, insisted that INEC should not do anything outside its regulations that would give the impression that they are partisan or favouring a particular political party.

The former representative of the Rivers East Senatorial District at the National Assembly further disclosed that his party was willing to accept the outcome of the elections if the procedures and rules published by INEC were adhered to.

Abe said: “The INEC should not do anything outside it’s own published regulations that will give the impression that INEC in Rivers State is out to favour one party over the other.

  “Let the elections be according to the rules and regulations and procedures of INEC as it has already been published. And let the real will of the people of Rivers state be established and determined.

  “We are democrats, we will submit to the will of the people. Our prayer is that people should be allowed to decide freely and fairly. And wherever they would like to see their future let them use their own finger to press on the future that they want. Whatever the people of Rivers State decide, we will go along with them. But they should be allowed to decide.”

Abe also called on the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Okon Effiong to act swiftly to quell pockets of crisis in some parts of the state especially recent shooting at a fishing port in a border settlement between the Ogonis and Andonis.

 He lamented that members of his party had severally been intimidated and harassed by police officers alleging working for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

 He said: “The Chairman of our mobilisation committee has had more than three visits to his house by the police men from that division. They have not left any message, neither have they left any indication of why he is being trailed. Also, the spokesperson of our campaign is under similar threat. A lot of our members are now practically on the run for no reason at all.

    “We all know that every election is nothing but a process to determine the wishes of the majority of the people. As true democrat there is no need for elections if we are not ready to accept the outcome of the peoples will.

 “Every problem that we see in election in this country is caused and fermented by those who are not ready to accept the will of the majority and who wants to have the answers to the questions even before the question asked. This cannot help our country to move forward.

“Today, as we speak, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Rivers state is been threatened, harassed, every efforts is being made to intimate our members and prevent the SDP from campaigning freely and also prevent our people from coming out to vote.”

As we speak several of our members have been arrested on false accusation  by security agencies, particularly the police and most particularly, one police section call the RTI that is led by one Commander  CSP Emeka Egbo, who has turned himself into an armed wing of the state wing branch of the PDP to harass and intimidate members of the SDP in this state.”

He noted that the party tried to inquire from the Nigeria Police Force if there are any allegations against their members, adding that the SDP in the state should be told or be invited formerly to respond to whatever issues there are