By NewsBits
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Collation Officer for the presidential election in Rivers State, south-south Nigeria, has adjourned the collation of results over an alleged threat to his life by some supporters of a political party.
The Collation Officer, Charles Adias, a professor, and Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Otuoke in Bayelsa State, announced the adjournment on Tuesday at the State Collation Centre in Port Harcourt, Channels TV reported. The professor declined to disclose the names of those threatening his life despite the appeal from the Commissioner of Police in the State, Aderemi Adeoye.
He said they have put all the blames on him for the failure of BVAS to transmit from polling units, that he was responsible for the manipulation and INEC should address its own failures before anything can continue in Rivers.
He, however, insisted that he would not proceed until the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state addressed some of the issues – faulty Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) – raised by those threatening him. According to Channels TV, results had been collated from 21 out of the 23 local government areas of the state.
The remaining two local government areas are Obio-Akpor where Governor Nyesom Wike hails from and Degema, home of his deputy, Ipalibo Banigo. The election in Rivers State and other parts of Niger were marred by violence and indiscriminate mutilation of results.
