On Saturday , 5th November , 2016, police operatives  from the Rivers State Police Command  bursted a fake result sheets  and ballot papers  syndicate of the Rivers APC  at Number 12, Isiokpo Street , DLine, Port Harcourt . Director of the Printing Press , Help-Mate Consult , Mr Atonyesia Peterside confessed on camera to his involvement  in the crime. He alleged that the  contract was awarded  to him by Emma Chinda , a former Agriculture Commissioner . 

Following, the plots by the Police, INEC  and APC  to sweep the electoral crime under the carpet, , Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike addressed the national media on the electoral corruption on Sunday , 6th November .  He raised  critical  questions for the  consideration of Nigerians on the unfortunate incident . 

Excerpts :

Why the Press Conference?

This is a Press Conference called by the  leaders and stakeholders of Rivers State  to inform members of the public, particularly the press of what is happening regarding  the re-run election which I hear that the Independent National Electoral Commission because of the resolution of the National Assembly has fixed for 10th of December, 2016.  It is important for us to let you know the strategy of a security agency and INEC with the All Progressives Congress.  For quite sometime, we have been working on a tip off and we believed that at the appropriate time that when our belief  is matured, that we are going to strike.

On the fraudulent plot to steal the people’s mandate during the forthcoming return elections  

Yesterday, I was in Sokoto State to attend the 10th year coronation of the Sultan of Sokoto.  While I was at Sokoto, I was called that yes, what we have been working on, the information we had and following the monitoring the culprits, that they have been arrested, members of APC who have been trying to see that they rig the election at all cost.  So, yesterday, we bursted into the gang that have been printing the ballot papers, the result sheets and other very sensitive materials as regard the December 10 re-run elections for those elections that were suspended on 19th of March, 2016. 

You will recall that after our elections were nullified by the Court of Appeal sometime December last year, we had re-run on March 19.  While that election was going on, the Independent National Electoral Commission announced that they had  suspended elections in eight local governments and that was around 12pm to 1pm in the afternoon,  because of violence.  Not only because of violence, also that it seemed there was lack of confidence of the electorate  as regards some of the results sheets that were submitted or presented to them, particularly in Bonny Local Government, Andoni Local Government, Gokana Local Government, Khana Local Government, Asari-Toru Local Government, Eleme Local Government, Tai Local Government and Etche Local Government.

So, as you can now see, what we are talking about has been that INEC is colluding with APC to rig the election. All this while, INEC has been saying that why they cannot conduct the election, because of insecurity.  And we say, one of the safest states is Rivers.  They claimed there was violence . It surprised us that after the Senate  passed a resolution that INEC must conduct that election within the next five weeks, two days or one day after, INEC came up that they are prepared to conduct the election on the 10th of December.  Ordinarily, we would have asked, yes the Senate passed a resolution today, tomorrow you brought out your timetable. When did you consult the security agencies to now know whether the place is safe or not.  But we thank God each time that it will play out, and we will know that they will have a hidden agenda.

River PDP objective

But what is important to us, I will tell you, first of all, that what was discovered; the arrest made yesterday was in collusion with INEC for the printing of sensitive materials for the re-run elections.  And as I speak to you, they have printed not less than eight Local Government Areas.  And now, what is the part of INEC, what role did INEC play in this printing of sensitive materials? Now you ask yourself, first PDP, we did not even know the units where INEC said there will be a re-run. Now, these people printed for  units. In essence, they are aware, these are the units that election will be conducted.  Meanwhile, INEC has not formally come out to tell us that look, these are the units that we think that there will be a re-run.  So, they have printed Senatorial, House of Representatives and House of Assembly, unit by unit that these are the areas the election will take place. 

Not just in these Local Governments that the elections were suspended, they also said that the election will also take place in some units in other local governments.  Take for example in Rivers East were we did not conclude the Senatorial election and some House of Representatives seat. We are waiting for them to come and tell us that it is in unit A, is in unit B, is in unit C were we know that elections will take place.  Now, APC had gone ahead to print sensitive materials, Senatorial, House of Representatives and House of Assembly elections in some of these areas.  That is why we have always cried and said look, INEC has a hidden agenda.  INEC wants to rig the election of Rivers State by all means, it doesn’t matter.  And we thank God, God in his infinite mercy has revealed these people.  That is the role of INEC. 

The illegal role of the police in this illegal  electoral ploe

Now, as for security, take for example the police.  As I speak with you now, people were arrested and luckily for us, and I made sure that the team videoed the documents before they were handed over to the police because you know the system. The police is ready to kill the evidence, to destroy the evidence. Now, police instead of them to conclude investigation and charge those who are responsible to court, police is telling us  that they are having pressure from Abuja to release them and not to charge them to court. They said  by charging them to court, they will be embarrassing the All Progressives Congress.  Something that is very obvious, something that everybody has seen.  Of course, we don’t expect APC to admit that they did it.  That is natural, they will never, never admit.  Even when we know, for the first time in the history of this country where Supreme Court Justices will say, some people came to influence what we want to do, yet they are still defending it.  Coming from Supreme Court Justices, they are still defending it, not to talk of where you say they caught them with electoral materials. That is not an issue to them.

APC  members are directly involved 

And who are those involved? We will show you the printer who is a member of the All Progressives Congress.  The printer is the cousin to the man we defeated in the governorship election, that is, I hear the DG of NIMASSA, Dr. Adolphus Dakuku Peterside.  We will show you the membership card of the printer, we will show you were he was at the campaign of the APC.   And all of us, if you watched AIT news last night where the man even said that they told them to, that they were going to use it for the tribunal matter. We know that they are going to concoct results.  One of the problems  if you remember on 19th March, 2016 was that our people resisted when they brought fake result sheets.  INEC denied that there is nothing like fake result sheets.  INEC denied.  Now, what did they intend to do with this? What they would have done with it was to bring it in and then, they will now take the original in colluding with security agencies, then they will now bring the original and push out our agents at the collation centre.

We are not from Edo. We are not from Edo.  Anybody who knows, know that you cannot try that as far as this state is concerned.  So, if you have the opportunity to do that in other states, don’t try it here in Rivers.  What they intend to do or what they are doing in Ondo state is the same thing.  We are not from Ondo State.  That is the role INEC is playing with the police.  As I speak with you now, I called the Commissioner of Police last night. He said well, he is under pressure.  I said under pressure doing the right thing or doing the wrong thing.

On President Buhari’s Position on corruption 

I am  aware that if the President hears this, he will not support what they are doing. I am fully aware that if Mr. President hears this, he will never, never support this, because we believe this is part of corruption.  And let everybody know, let the public know that PDP will resist any attempt by INEC to rig the re-run election.  Every time they say violence in Rivers State, what violence?  You cause violence by yourself, you go and print fake result sheets to rig election and then you expect us not to resist it, then when we resist it, you say there is violence. Who is causing the violence?  Somebody said we threatened by saying  write your will.  Now tell me, who is threatening now? Is it not INEC? Is it not the Police and APC?   Are they not the ones now?  You want us to fold our hands and allow you to come and smuggle in the fake results sheets.  No wonder when we wrote petition to the IG by posting those we know that want to do a hatchet job for them, IG never did anything.  I Have written more than 15 letters that so, so person is coming here for a hatchet job, so so person is coming here for a hatchet job, please, am not going to say who you are going to post, but I know these persons, remove them and bring in people that are natural.  As a governor of a state, IG never listened to me because they are planning something.  But what they did not understand is that you cannot kill everybody at the same time.  When you kill those ones, others will remain and they will continue with the battle. Everybody knows that it is not possible for APC to have any vote as far as Rivers State is concern.  If anybody is giving them that hope, they can give them that hope in Abuja, but not here.

APC’S flimsy excuses

And so, we said we should let the public know.  I heard on radio when they said, oh, it is PDP.  We went and printed result sheets? And then we want to expose ourselves that we printed result sheets.  As all of us are now, where will they win the election? No wonder, each time they will say that they are ready that they will win the election and I was telling them, where, where, not knowing that they are printing results sheets.  Let me see that INEC official that will bring in that result sheet.  Let me see that person. If you rig this election, you rig your life. Everybody coming from anywhere saying you want to rig election, if you like carry American marine and come, we will resist it because we say; we want a change in the system.  There should be free and fair election.  You cannot impose anybody on Rivers  people. You can’t. Let people make their own choice.  Tomorrow you will say why, should the governor be threatening people.  The governor is not threatening, the governor is saying that don’t come and steal what does not belong to you.  If you want to steal my property, take away my right, will I fold my hands and allow you? Certainly not.  So, you can see the leaders of the party, everybody is here to say listen, INEC do not take us for a ride, we will not allow it.  Stop colluding with APC. Yes, you are appointed by the ruling party, I have no problem about that, you are appointed to do the right thing.  Mr. President has said, we have change, free and fair election.  At least, let it start from Rivers State.  Let it start from Rivers State that there will be free and fair election.  I will not be surprise the next few minutes, they will come up to say, no, don’t mind what they are saying; they are the ones.

Police Planning to destroy  evidence 

Police want to destroy the evidence. We are watching them, we are waiting for them.  They must conclude that investigation and charge those people to court.  One Emmanuel Chinda, former Commissioner of Agriculture and APC stalwart was the man who gave them the job to do and police is telling us that they can’t go there to arrest him.  Why, the people from Abuja said he should not be arrested. That is what the police is saying.  They cannot arrest him that Abuja said he should not be arrested, but they can go 1am to arrest Judges. They can go 1am, but they cannot go even in the morning, evening to arrest Emmanuel Chinda.  Wherever they are, they should know that Rivers State is not like the other states.  We will not allow it. So we felt we should let the public know and then we will give you now the man that was in charge of the printing, his pictures and you will see the identity card, everything, a cousin to Dr. Dakuku Adolphus Peterside. So you will see whether what we are saying, whether we are right or wrong.

Governor Wike displays the electronic pictures of the culprits 

Now, look at the man here.  Look at the printer, and then tomorrow they will say no oooh. Look at the man here that is in detention that they want to release.  Look at him with the APC T. Shirt.  Now, let me show you, look at the man with Dakuku Peterside.  See the man here.  Press, I say, I hope you are seeing.  Press, see it well, press, see it well.  Now, look at the man with the machine and they will say, they will tell you PDP.  They have gone to police that they should change the statement the man made.  The man should say that they forced him, this and that.  Look at it.

Deliberate destruction of democratic institutions

What kind of country are we really in? Now, this is just re-run for Senatorial, House of Representatives and Assembly. Then when it comes to Governorship and Presidential elections, what will happen?  Now, what will happen when we are talking of Governorship election and the Presidential election, what will happen, if we can go this far just because you want somebody. You have taken our money to use our money to sponsor candidate. We are not bothered.  That is over.  You just see that because of the money the person drops, if he does not win any seat in Rivers State, he will be humiliated.   This is a PDP state. It is not a swing state.  There is nothing to swing. You will only do that to swing states.  This is a traditional, perpetual PDP state.  We are not contemplating, if so don’t even come to do anything that whether Rivers State can swing, we are not swinging to anywhere.  So, members of the press, do us the favour to alert the public to see what is happening.

For ordinary Senatorial and House of Representatives election, they can go this far.  You can go to number 12 Isiokpo Street, D/Line. Go there, you will see the place.  It is not as if we are just saying what is not correct.  Go there. Tell police to do the right thing. They must go and arrest Emmanuel Chinda, they must charge the people to court. The evidence is clear, it’s overwhelming.  They never knew that we have been walking on them for long.  We just kept quiet, we have been following them, we have been monitoring them and said that at the appropriate time that this is what is going to happen, and it has happened.  Just like DSS said they have been following up, we have also been following up.  So they are not the only people that can be following up.  We have been following up.

So, I thank you for coming and I believe that you will do justice to this matter by letting the public know, by telling the international community know that we want peace in Rivers State for us to continue with what we are doing for our people.  Rivers State has been noted as a peaceful state. We are not troublesome, let them not push us to do what we don’t want to do.  We want peace and I believe that Mr. President will not take this matter likely.  I know that Mr. President will not take this matter likely.  All those who are involved, I know Mr. President will call them to be punish or be prosecuted.  I know that very well.  Mr. President will not take it likely at all. Let me tell you why Mr. President will not take it likely.  They did not give us bail out money and they were deducting our money as pay back when we did not collect money, so I wrote petition to Mr. President and he was shocked.  He said why are they collecting you money when they did not give you bail out, and he said that they should give us the bail out money, and that is why I have the belief that he will not take this matter likely.  If anybody is doubting, I am not doubting because I know that very well. So, for Mr. President to take this action, then you will see the worst one, he will not allow them to go free because Mr. President is fighting corruption.