One Nenye Kocha who is said to be the State Collation Officer for the African Action Congress, AAC, in the March 9th gubernatorial Election in Rivers State, has told the Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Port Harcourt that the witnesses presented by the party’s gubernatorial candidate, Engr Awara Biokpomabo, to testify as collation agents were not members of the party.
He also countered Awara’s claim that the AAC won in fifteen local governments areas before the election was cancelled, stressing that it won in only two LGAs.
Kocha who is the star witness for the 2nd petitioner, the AAC, who opened their case on Monday in the party’s petition challenging Governor Nyesom Wike’s victory at the poll, confirmed to the tribunal that AAC did not receive result sheets from fifteen (15) local government areas as alleged by the party’s Guber candidate.
He added that AAC was never ahead of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the Governorship Election, as he took proper records of all result sheets.
He said further that no result was declared for Abua/Odual and Gokana local government areas due to electoral violence that arose during collation processes.
He explained that results were declared in Obio Akpor local government which counters 1st petitioner’s witness that there was no result declared in Obio Akpor.
“We had just four house of Assembly candidates and one Governorship candidate. Out of the 32 Seats in the Assembly, we only had four candidates. No candidate for National Assembly. We had collation agents in only 418 polling units across the 4442 polling units in the state.
“No result was declared for Abua/Odual and Gokana LGAs as at the time of collation. INEC conducted the election in strict compliance to the Electoral Act and INEC guidelines.
“Donatus Barikor for Gokana and Henry Iyala for Degema were not AAC party agents.
“This is the first time I am in politics, coming from industry, I am in politics for integrity. APC adopted our Governorship candidate two days to the election”.
Kocha admitted at the Tribunal that the Party no longer has a Deputy Governorship Candidate following the withdrawal of Chief Akpo Bomba Yeeh from the ticket.
He said that the AAC won in only two Local Government Areas, Akuku-Toru Local Government Area and Oyigbo LGA as clearly declared by INEC during the Collation of results.
He added that most of the witnesses presented in court by Biokpomabo Awara initially were not members of AAC .
The AAC State Collation Agent, however, admitted before the tribunal that AAC started preparation two days to March 9th Governorship election, adding that All Progressive Congress APC Party adopted AAC Governorship candidate two days to the election.
Also testifying before the tribunal, Osademe Joseph, a correspondent for African Independent Television AIT, tendered a flash drive containing video clips of result collation done in State Collation Center, INEC Headquarters Port Harcourt.
He told the tribunal that he was posted to carry out live coverage of results Collation at the State Collation Center on the 2nd and 3rd April.
He said the information he tendered before the tribunal were gathered from four different cameras into the flyaway kit that controls various production cameras in an event.
