Rivers rerun: PDP attacks Ganduje over comments

Olusola Fabiyi, Abuja

The Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led Peoples Democratic Party on Monday described the statement by the Kano State Governor, Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, that having free and fair elections in the South-South region of the country was abnormal, as a veiled threat that the forthcoming electoral reruns in Rivers State will be manipulated by the All Progressives Congress.

The PDP asked Ganduje, who doubles as the chairman of the APC Rivers State Re-Run Election Campaign Committee, to tender an apology to the people of the region.

It added that the abnormality of elections in that region was due to the win-at-all-cost attitude of the APC.The party also added that the statement was an indictment against the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The Kano State governor had while answering questions from State House correspondents on Friday on the preparation of his party, the APC towards the reruns, said, “You know in that part of the country, having free and fair elections is not normal and we have to make it normal this time.”

Reacting to Ganduje, the spokesman of the Makarfi-led PDP, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, said, “This statement coming from the governor is not only unfortunate, it is ridiculous and absurd to say the least. It is highly unbecoming of a governor to make such an unguarded statement that denigrates the people of the whole state and the South-South region in general.

“The statement is also a veiled threat that the coming election in Rivers State will be manipulated as usual by the APC, using the INEC and the security apparatus of state.

“If free and fair elections have been ‘abnormal’ in the region according to the governor, it is due to the manipulation and the win-at-all-cost attitude of the APC.

“This desperation of the APC to win at all cost was exposed by the recent decision of the Court of Appeal which upturned the re-run election in Opobo/Nkoro State Constituency of Rivers State in favour of our candidate, Mr. Diri Adonye, wherein the Appeal Court emphatically stated that the election was massively rigged.