RIVERS STATE ELECTIONS: WHY I BACKED THE MOVE OF THE ELECTORAL TRIBUNAL TO ABUJA - ABE

Magnus Ngei Abe

Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate in Rivers State, has stated that relocating the Rivers State Election Petition Tribunal from Port Harcourt to Abuja is in the best interests of the people of the state.

He said: "I think that anybody who has been watching developments in Rivers State will see that there was really no way the tribunal could sit in Port Harcourt.

"Even the opportunity for members of the opposition parties to access INEC Office in Port Harcourt and be able to get materials or information from INEC to enable them present their petitions before the tribunal was physically and violently resisted.

"Even the opportunity for members of the opposition parties to access INEC Office in Port Harcourt and be able to get materials or information from INEC to enable them present their petitions before the tribunal was physically and violently resisted..

"People were beaten up; nobody could go near the INEC Office. The place was kept under siege and the police allowed this to go for days. Nothing was done to bring it under control.

"So, clearly, the option of the tribunal actually sitting in Port Harcourt to do any meaningful work; anybody who has been watching events in the State knows that it was not even an option.

"There is no way anybody could have been able to go before the tribunal in Port Harcourt and be able to make a case. Even the tribunal is also made up of human beings, who also fear for their lives.

"The volatile political atmosphere in the State affected everybody and affected everything. I think that at the end of the day, the tribunal had no option than to relocate to Abuja, where we believe that everybody will get a better opportunity to be able to present their cases."