The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has given INEC headquarters 72 hours ultimatum to direct its Rivers State office to release documents needed by the party to lodge a case at the Election Petition Tribunal.

INEC had announced the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as winners of the three senate seats and nine out of the 12 House of Representatives seats in the state during the election.

The APC and the Labour Party candidates won one House of Representatives seat each while the result of Port Harcourt Federal Constituency 2 was suspended, this newspaper earlier reported.

But the APC, which is challenging the outcome of the 25 February National Assembly polls in the state, claimed its candidates won the elections and that their “mandate were stolen.”

The party has threatened to mount a blockade at INEC office in Port Harcourt, if its request was not granted at the expiration of the ultimatum.

APC spokesperson in the state, Darlington Nwauju, issued the threat in a statement in Port Harcourt on Friday.

Mr Nwauju accused INEC head of operations in Rivers State, Mike Odeh of conniving with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state to frustrate the APC efforts in getting the necessary documents needed to facilitate its case at the tribunal.

“May we put on record that the APC in Rivers State had applied for the Certified True Copies (CTCs) of forms EC8A, EC8B, EC8C and other documents incidental to the recently conducted National Assembly elections in the state in which results were mutilated and or forged in favour of the PDP in areas where our party clearly won and our candidates should have been declared winners if INEC had kept its promise of uploading results from the polling units to the iREV portal.

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“Instructively, the said Head of Operations, Mr Odeh, against both the civil service rules, INEC guidelines and the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended) has consciously and viciously erected a wall to ensure he frustrates the moves of the APC in Rivers State to retrieve the stolen mandates of our National Assembly candidates by refusing to release the relevant documents earlier listed, which are at the heart of prosecuting our petitions at the Elections Petitions Tribunal, knowing too well that election petitions are sue generis or time bound,” Mr Nwauju said.

Mr Nwauju said the party has lost confidence in Mr Odeh, adding that he has refused to release documents to it despite approval granted the party to access the said documents by the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner and Administrative Officer of the commission in the state.

“The APC in Rivers State has lost confidence in the Head of Operations, Mr Mike Odeh and demands his immediate investigation and prosecution for single-handedly uprooting the independence status of the INEC,” Mr Nwauju said.

Spokesperson for the PDP in the state, Sydney Gbara, did not respond to a call and text message for comments when contacted.

PREMIUM TIMES could not reach Mr Odeh, head of operations in Rivers INEC office for comments at the time of filing this report.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/587293-apc-gives-inec-ultimatum-over-document-needed-for-election-tribunal.html

Pretending....I have not witnessed such political daylight robbery in the political history of world even as a political student. APC and fraudulent activities are just inseparable....

There was no election in Rivers state.

Amechi didn't show this kind of commitment during the Presidential Election.

Evil party

Thief threatening to sue a judge . laughable