Five opposition parties in Rivers State have vowed to oppose attempts to rig the state's March 18 gubernatorial and legislative elections.
At a joint press conference held in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, both parties accused the Independent National Election Commission of colluding with state governments to jeopardize the election.
The political parties are the All Progressive Congress, National Salvation Movement, Labor Parry, African Democracy Congress, and Alliance for Action.
In her speech, APC gubernatorial candidate Tonye Cole accused Nyesom governor Wike of cracking down on the opposition during the election.
“We are asking INEC to make the collection centers inaccessible to all government officials,” Cole said. “We also urge INEC to limit the movement of government officials in the settlements, including governors and heads of local governments, as this would jeopardize the electoral process.
“We want peaceful, free and fair elections. Only authorized party representatives should have access to payment centers.
“Foreign missions and international observers should pay close attention to the Rivers state election, as the Rivers state government has worked with INEC officials to finalize a plan to rig Saturday's election.”
He continued:
“Then there should be adequate security at the municipal collection points on March 18.”
Similarly, NRM gubernatorial candidate Sobomabo Jackreech accused INEC of colluding with his Wike to rig the election by March 18 and urged the committee to stay clean. . He explained:
"We are not ready for violence, so we are asking INEC to keep clean by instructing state governors and LGA chairs to stay away from collection centers.
ADC gubernatorial candidate Tonte Ivraye has vowed to oppose any form of manipulation.
However, when contacted, Mark Usler, Rivers' INEC director of voter education and public relations, said the allegations were false and baseless.
"It's not true, and it can never be true," Usulor said. It's false claims, fake news, and misinformation.
"Such claims should be dismissed as baseless and baseless.
“We are a transparent Election Commission, even with some glitches in the last election.
"But it's not part of our ethics, so it doesn't mean we work with political parties or governments.
"We are here to conduct credible and acceptable elections for the people of Rivers State."
Information and Communications Commissioner He Chris Finebone also said both parties were expressing unfounded fear and propaganda. Finebone said:
"Anything you hear about him trying to influence people is fake news. Nothing of the sort happened and I believe you oversaw the election.
“What happens is they anticipate failure and try to lay the foundation for a narrative that explains the failure of the election.
"The governor has no intentions and will never try to influence anyone, including INEC. All he does on Saturday is vote and go home. ”