Austin Tam-George, the Rivers State commissioner for information and communication, has called on the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, to rise above electoral fraud and political bias, by conducting free, fair and credible re-run elections in Rivers State on the 10th of December 2016.
Dr. Tam-George made the call during a media briefing in Lagos on Saturday, November 5, 2016.
The commissioner regretted that it took persistent pressure from the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, and an unprecedented directive by the Senate to INEC, before the electoral body decided to fix the December date for the elections in the oil-rich southern state.
The commissioner said INEC’s complicit behavior has eroded public confidence in the electoral process, adding that only free and fair polls would be accepted by the people of Rivers State.
“It is shocking beyond belief that an electoral body would wait to be compelled to fulfill its constitutional duty by the Senate of the country,” Tam-George said.
He also advised the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, to abandon its politics of desperation, and work with the Rivers State government towards fair and credible elections in December.
The commissioner praised governor Nyesom Wike for putting service to the people of Rivers State first at all times.
