The national collation centre of the
Independent National Electoral
Commission, INEC, in Abuja was some
few minutes ago thrown into
commotion as the Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP, agent, Elder Godsdey Orubebe,
refused to allow the continuation of
announcement of election results.
Upon resumption on Tuesday morning
to continue announcing the election
results, Mr. Orubebe sought and got the
permission of the INEC chairman, Prof.
Attahiru Jega, to make an observation.
Immediately he was handed the
microphone, the former Niger Delta
Minister held up a piece of paper, which
he said was printed from the opposition
party, All Progressives Congress’ website,
purportedly showing the party’s
presidential candidate, Muhammadu
Buhari as winner of the election even
though all the results have not yet been
announced.
Accusing Jega of bias and tribalism, the
PDP agent passed a vote of no
confidence on the INEC chairman.
“You are very very selective, partial;
we’ve lost confidence in what you are
doing. We don’t believ in you anymore”,
he said, adding “You are tribalistic! You
are partial! You are selective! We’ll not
allow it! This [the result] is already
printed by Jega and APC!”
Apparently vexed by the INEC chairman’s
decision to set up a probe committee on
the election in Rivers State, Mr. Orubebe
said Jega refused to look into similar
complaints by the ruling party on some
states, especially in the North, which the
PDP considered to have been massively
rigged.
“Let Jega set up a committee, to go to
Kano; to go to Katsina, to go to Jigawa,
to go to Kaduna. They are playing a
script! We won’t allow it”, Orubebe
thundered.
He was unyielding as Mr. Jega and other
INEC officials appealed to him to allow
the collation to go on.
He said the collation would not go on
except Mr. Jega leaves the venue for his
office to “address PDP complaints”.
In his response, Jega denied the
accusation of bias leveled against him by
the PDP, stressing that the party did not
follow the right channel of
communication in submitting its
petition.
He argued that the petition was given to
his Personal Assistant instead of the
Secretary to the Commission.
This much Jega said he told the PDP
agent at the collation centre, Dr. Bello
Fadile, who said “okay”.
He also claimed ignorance of the election
result allegedly paraded by the APC.
The collation of results has since
resumed.