Governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Rivers State, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, says he supports the relocation of the Rivers State Election Petition Tribunal from Port Harcourt to Abuja because it is in the best interest of people of the state.
This is as he alleged that members of the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers were forced to adopt the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Siminalaye Fubara, as the state candidate.
Abe, who spoke on a live television programme monitored in Port Harcourt yesterday, said it would have been difficult for opposition political parties and their candidates to appear before the tribunal if it had sat in Port Harcourt.
He said: “I think anybody who has been watching developments in Rivers State would see that there was really no way the tribunal could sit in Port Harcourt.
“Even the opportunity for members of the opposition parties to access INEC office in Port Harcourt and be able to get materials or information from INEC to enable them present their petitions before the tribunal was physically and violently resisted.
“People were beaten up; nobody could go near the INEC office. The place was kept under siege and the police allowed this to go on for days. Nothing was done to bring it under control.
“There is no way anybody could have been able to go before the tribunal in Port Harcourt and be able to make a case. Even the tribunal is also made up of human beings who also fear for their lives.
“The volatile political atmosphere in the state affected everybody and affected everything. I think at the end of the day, the tribunal had no option than to relocate to Abuja where we believe everybody will get a better opportunity to present their cases.”
Abe stated that it was only in Rivers State that the state government issued Executive Orders 21 and 22 to prohibit opposition political parties and their candidates from carrying out campaigns across the state.
