'Curious' delays of poll results in SS and SE, APC cries out

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said the delay in releasing the results of last weekend’s elections in the South-East and the South-South gives room for concern, against the background of the results that are streaming in from other parts of the country.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said apart from Rivers and Akwa Ibom, where everyone knows what the situation is, there has been nothing but silence from the remaining states as far as the results are concerned.

It said many concerned Nigerians have called the party to express their concern over the delay, and to share their concerns on whether something sinister is behind the palpable silence.

”The fact that most of the South-East and the South-South resorted to manual accreditation instead of being patient for the card readers has raised real fears on the possible manipulation of the results. It is common knowledge that manual accreditation makes the voting process more susceptible to rigging and manipulation,” APC said.

The party described as very curious the fact that the card readers largely functioned well in other parts of the country, except in the South-East and the South-South, wondering whether this was a mere coincidence.

”Also, credible reports emanating from most of the South-East and the South-South indicate that APC agents have either been harassed, intimidated or chased away from results collation centres, the same treatment they (APC agents) have been subjected to in Adamawa and
Taraba States.

”Against this background, we are demanding that our agents in all the affected states be given unfettered access to the result collation centres, and that they must also be allowed to scrutinize any result emanating from there for it to be credible,” it said.

APC renewed its earlier warning that no one should circumvent the will of the people for whatever reason and that only the authentic results of the elections will be acceptable to Nigerians.

The party appealed to its concerned members and supporters to be calm and to continue to eschew violence, assuring that in the end, the will of the good people of Nigeria – which they have freely expressed by turning out in large numbers to exercise their franchise – will prevail.