As accusations and counter-accusations continue to fly as regards the suspended Rivers gubernatorial election, with chieftains of the All Progressives Congress accusing the Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in the state of collaborating with the state governor Nyesom Wike, the REC has denied any possible link between himself and Wike.
Obo Effanga made the remarks while as a guest on a Port Harcourt-based radio station, Rhythm 93.7FM.
He said that rather than try to rubbish the integrity of election umpires, politicians should work hard to woo voters for electoral victory.
According to him: “There is no alliance between me and the governor. I have said this over and again that there is no such thing. Politicians should learn to participate in the electoral process; and to win, they should ask people to vote for them and not cry at every time or rubbish the integrity of persons whose duty it is to conduct elections.
“Nobody wins in making such assertions without proof and I can assure you that there is no such alliance between the INEC or between myself as the Resident Electoral Commissioner and any political interest.”
He also denied being invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over petitions written against him, stressing that he had not been invited by any anti-corruption agency because there was no reason for such invitation.
He said: “There is no such thing (invitation by EFCC); I only saw it on the social media. In this age where everybody has free access to the Internet, virtually everybody has turned himself to reporter, editor and publisher of news.
“With this, people can just write whatever they want and post it out there and a lot of gullible Nigerians are falling prey to this, believing everything they see on social media. But nothing has been brought to my attention by any agency.”
Explaining that his interest was in the conclusion of the electoral process in the state, Effanga cautioned that people should not try to get results outside the electoral process.
