The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, could not vote for his preferred candidate in Saturday’s re-run election in
Rivers State due to the disappearance of result sheet from his unit, his media office said. Mr. Amaechi is the leader of the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers.
“Presiding officer (PO) in the Minister, Rotimi Amaechi’s unit, Ward 8, unit 14 in Ikwerre LGA has been detained by security agents following the disappearance of the result sheet for the unit.
“The SPO confirmed that the result sheet was given to PO. As a result, voting has not commenced in the Minister’s unit. The same story playing out in several other units in Ikwerre LGA,” the office said in a message to PREMIUM TIMES.
Although the election went on well in many places, news of snatching of election materials, especially, result sheets are reported in some places. PREMIUM TIMES independently confirmed the theft of the result sheet at Abonchia, Ward 8, Eleme LGA. Olaka Nwogu, PDP’s candidate for Rivers South East senatorial district had earlier accused soldiers deployed to the area of collaborating with the APC to rig election in Eleme part of the district.
Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES, Mr. Nwogu, said, “soldiers are just stealing materials and giving them to APC in ward 8, Eleme here.”
He was subsequently overheard asking somebody through the phone: “Don’t you have enough boys to storm the place and hijack this thing for me?”
He later told some of his aides sitting by his side that, “the situation demands I should go to the field myself”.
