Eight witnesses for the INEC on Monday told the Rivers Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja that the security men who testified for the APC all lied on oath before the tribunal.
The witnesses also told the tribunal during their cross examination by Counsel to the APC, Mr Akinlolu Olujimi that the security men were ignorant of the electoral processes at the polling unit.
It will be recalled that a total of 58 witnesses among who were soldiers, policemen and officials of State Security Services were called by the APC to prove the allegations that the April 11 governorship election in the state was marred with violence.
Some of the witnesses had testified that there was no election while some claimed that the election was disrupted by shooting of guns by some hoodlums and ballot snatching.
The witnesses further insisted that the elections was peaceful, credible and that all legal procedures for the election was also followed before the declaration of Gov. Nyesom Wike as the winner of the election.
All the witnesses who were presiding officers in five local government areas namely Degema, Gokana, Ogba /Egbema/Ndoni, Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro also added that the card readers and manual accreditation were used during the election.
Mr Derekunor Richmond, the Presiding Officer at Ward 4 Unit 10 described the soldiers who testified earlier as liars who were not at the polling unit.
He said that the governorship election was peaceful, credible and conducted in line with the Electoral Act and INEC guidelines.
He also pointing out that he met other presiding officers who participated in the collation exercise at the ward collation centre where results were compiled.
Another Presiding Officer, Nwachukwu Chimezie, who conducted election at Unit 9, Ward 14 of Degema, noted that the election was peaceful and credible in his jurisdiction.
According to Chimezie, the soldiers and mobile policemen who testified before the tribunal lied on oath.
He said that Degema LGA was peaceful on Election Day as he slept in the town on April 10 with no case of shooting or thuggery witnessed.
He added that all electoral procedures were followed before the results were declared in the presence of party agents.
Another INEC witness, Apoodari Dilo, the Presiding Officer for Unit 4 Ward 4 in Gokana berated the soldiers, saying that there was no violence during the governorship election.
He stated that he slept at Gokana on the night preceding the election and that it was peaceful, with no shooting or violence.
Onyije Ifeanyi, the Presiding Officer in Ogba / Egbema / Ndoni confirmed that the election was peaceful, credible and conducted in line with the Electoral Act.
He wondered why the soldiers and mobile policemen invited by the APC would lie under oath when they never participated in the election.
According to Ifeanyi, if there were killings in the local government area he monitored as the soldiers alleged, he will not have stayed there to complete the election process and collation of results in the presence of party agents.
The Presiding Officer for Unit 12 Ward 1 of Opobo / Nkoro LGA where the Rivers State APC Governorship Candidate, Mr Dakuku Peterside hails from, Mohammed Yusuf said contrary to claims by the soldiers and mobile policemen, nobody disrupted the voting process.
Maxwell Loveday , the Presiding Officer of Unit 6 Ward 9 of Andoni LGA said that there was no incident of violence as election held peacefully with all processes followed and collation of votes carried out.
The Presiding Officer for Unit 8, Ward 1 of Degema LGA, Tuboni McBala said that all electoral procedures were observed before he went to the ward collation centre where he met other presiding officers for the ward collation.
He noted that the soldiers and mobile policemen merely lied at the tribunal as they were not part of the voting process.
Ogunkoya Adewale, who served as presiding officer at unit 5 Ward 4 in Degema LGA said he had a successful voting and collation process, while there were no soldiers at the polling unit.
He said that he travelled to Bakana, a riverine community, a day before the election and slept there without any incident of violence before and during the election.
He also maintained that elections held and the legal procedures were used to get to the declaration of results.
He said that card readers and manual accreditation were used for the governorship election in line with the training they received.
Adewale pointed out that they were never instructed to postpone the election on the account of malfunctioning card readers. (NAN)
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