In the ongoing Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, the Independent National Electoral Commission, began its defence of the polls on Thursday.
One of INEC’s electoral officers that conducted the election, Ebikoru Tebekaemi, came forward to testify before the tribunal.
Tebekaemi, told the tribunal that he supervised the governorship election at Obio-Akpor LGA of Rivers State.
The INEC electoral officer testified before the tribunal that there was no incident of ballot snatching or multiple thumb-printing of ballot papers at Obio-Akpor.
When asked by the counsel of the All Progressives Congress, Akin Olujimi (SAN), if he knew that there was a widespread rigging and hijacking of electoral materials by armed thugs, Tebekaemi, said he had no knowledge of such incidents.
He stated that election was conducted in 15 out of 17 wards in the local government area, saying, “it was only at ward 12 and 13, which is Rumuigbo and Rumokuta, that election did not take place.”
Tebekaemi, also said that he was not aware that people were seen at a football pitch thumb-printing ballot papers in favour of Governor Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party.
When the PDP’s lawyer- Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN), asked him if it was true that lack of electoral materials hampered the election, the INEC officer said he could only testify on Obio-Akpor.
“But I can confirm that sufficient electoral materials were distributed across Obio-Akpor and other parts of Rivers State during the governorship election,” he stated.
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