By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
As a result of the palpable tension associated with who the winner is among the twopolitical heavyweights contesting the Cross River North senatorial district ticket in yesterday’s National Assembly election, the leadership of the Cross River State chapter of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC, has charged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, not allow the wish of the electorate to be truncated.
IPAC also warned that it would resist any attempt to compromise the results of the polls in favour of the two political heavyweights in the senatorial district, Governor Ben Ayade and incumbent Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe.
Cross River IPAC Chairman, Comrade Anthony Attah, gave the charge while reacting to rumours making the rounds in Ogoja Local Government Area, that some powerful forces suspected to be from ruling party had hatched a plan to manipulate results of Saturday polls which is still being collated.
Speaking alongside the state IPAC secretary, Pastor Ntami Esege, the IPAC boss said, “The attention of the leadership of Inter Party Advisory Council, IPAC, Cross River State chapter, has been drawn to a purported order from powerful forces within the ruling party in the state.
“We urged the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Prof Gabriel Yomeri, not to suspend collation of results of the presidential and National Assembly election across the state.
“We hereby warn that any attempt by INEC to alter, compromise or change the result of any polling unit, ward, constituency or senatorial district would be met with unprecedented resistance from Cross Riverians. We insist that collation of results should continue to the letter.
“We further urge all our agents, collations officers and the general public to intensify their vigilance by mounting surveillance within and around all designated collation centres in the state.
It is equally important to state incontrovertibly that we are already in possession of over 80 percent of the polling unit result from the 3,281 polling units across the state in our Situation Room.
“Any attempt therefore to change any figure would be greeted with unaccustomed resistance from Cross Riverians. It is our wish and utmost desire that the will of our people as reflected in the votes cast already be allowed to prevail.
“Accordingly, we call on local, national and international observers to beam a searchlight around the electoral umpire to forestall any planned or forced compromise.
“Cross Riverians have spoken in their various polling units and their voice must not be diminished. Every vote must count!
“We call on the security agencies to fortify their hold on all collation centres and ensure that the will of the people is not truncated.
“We urge our people to go about their business peacefully and to conduct themselves in the most civil manner.”
Reacting to the issue, the REC, Prof. Yomere stated that INEC would discharge its constitutional responsibility logically without fear or favour, stressing that not even the state governor nor any highly placed individual in the corridors of power have such powers to make INEC halt announcement of results of elections which had been collated.
The REC maintained that even himself, who is acting in the capacity of Resident Electoral Commissioner has no such powers to halt announcement of result.
