PDP plans to use judiciary to scuttle Rivers rerun, Sen Abe alleges

The candidate of the APC, for the Rivers South-East senatorial district, Senator Magnus Abe, has accused the PDP, of trying to use the judiciary to scuttle the rerun legislative elections scheduled for October in the state.

Abe, a former chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), made the accusation in Abuja on Friday at a press briefing, adding that if noting is urgently done, the rerun election will fail.

Abe was reacting to a court order secured by the PDP to stop the rerun election in Tai Local Government Area of the state.

Read also: For fear of inconclusive election, I NEC deploys 18,511 personnel to Edo

He said: “The surprising information that we are getting now is that the PDP is perfecting plans to use the courts and judiciary to scuttle the rerun election in Rivers State. But we know that the judiciary will not be used to stifle democracy. The impunity and audacity of the PDP has no limit.

“Before the last election, we drew the attention of the public on the plan by PDP to cause violence in the Rivers rerun election. But we were not taken serious. This is the first time when a political party will be denying people their legitimate rights. As we speak, all the APC members who won election into Rivers State House of Assembly with their Certificates of Return have not been sworn in while PDP legislators have been inaugurated. To say that the Independent National Electoral Commission favoured APC is the height of mischief.”

However, the publicity secretary of the PDP in Rivers State, Samuel Nwanosike, dismissed the allegation, saying the party went to court because it suspected a foul play.

By Timothy Enietan-Matthews

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