Agents of the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State and their counterparts in the Peoples Democratic Party almost exchanged blows on Monday over claims that the presidential election results in some local government areas in the state were forged.
Agent of the APC, Dr Sampson Ngerebara, at the state collation centre in Port Harcourt, claimed that the result of the Khana Local Government Area, where the PDP polled 89,843 votes against the APC’s 5,329 as presented by its collation officer, Mr Okechukwu Kelvin, was doctored.
Ngerebara argued that the number of votes recorded for the PDP was high compared to the voting strength of the local government and the overall turnout of voters across the state for the presidential and National Assembly elections.
He said, “Imagine a situation where in Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt City Local Government Areas, the two biggest LGAs in the state, Obio/Akpor with a voting strength of a little above 600,000 and they turned in 81,000 votes, which is barely above 13 per cent.
“How can Khana that has 124,000 voting strength turn in above 80,000 votes for the PDP, where across the state, the average turnout was between 10 per cent to a little above 15% and Khana alone will produce 59.8 per cent ?”
But PDP’s agent, Austin Opara, attributed the huge turnout to mobilisation.
Opara added that security operatives intimidated voters in Obio/Akpor, which led to voter apathy.
“Military operatives in 14 Hilux vans were moving around in Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor LGAs scaring voters away,” he alleged.