The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Tonye Cole, has rejected the results of the just concluded election in the state, saying the mandate of electorate in Rivers State have been stolen.
Cole made his position known on Monday night at a joint press conference with the candidate of the National Rescue Movement (NRM), Sobomabo Jackrich; and African Democratic Congress (ADC), Tonye Ibraye.
Earlier, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Siminalayi Fubara, the winner of last Saturday’s governorship election.
Fubara, the “anointed” candidate of Governor Nyesom Wike, polled 302,614 votes to defeat Tonye Cole who scored 95,274.
But the APC candidate called on INEC to cancel the election, following “widespread violence and irregularities”.
He however advised his supporters to remain calm as he takes steps to reclaim their mandate.
The NRM candidate and his ADC counterpart, who had earlier stepped down for Cole, said the violence and intimidation which characterised the March 18 election in the state were too visible to be ignored by the commission.