Cole called on INEC to cancel the election, following “widespread violence and irregularities”.
Tonye Cole, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for governor in Rivers State, has rejected the results of the just-concluded election, and demanded that the electoral body, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should cancel the election because it did not reflect the choices and will of people of the state.
This was according to a joint press conference on Monday evening addressed by Sobomabo Jackrich of the National Rescue Movement (NRM), Tonye Ibraye of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Cole.
Recall that INEC had declared the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Siminalayi Fubara, the winner of last Saturday’s governorship election.
Fubara, the “anointed” candidate of Governor Nyesom Wike, polled 302,614 votes to defeat Tonye Cole who scored 95,274.
But the APC candidate called on INEC to cancel the election, following “widespread violence and irregularities”.
He however advised his supporters to remain calm as he takes steps to reclaim their mandate.
The NRM candidate and his ADC counterpart, who had earlier stepped down for Cole, said the violence and intimidation which characterised the March 18 election in the state were too visible to be ignored by the commission.