Atedo Peterside, founder of Anap Poll Ltd. and chairman of Stanbic IBTC Bank, has quizzed Rotimi Ameachi, former governor of River State and Minister of Transportation, for his views over the conduct of the March 18 governorship and state house of assembly elections in the state.
Peterside accused Ameachi of keeping silent about the several infractions witnessed in the state during the February 25 presidential and national assembly elections, where there was clear evidence of voter suppression, ballot box snatching, electoral officers’ intimidation, and voter intimidation.
The Anap founder responded via his Twitter handle to Ameachi’s public statement, where he openly condemned the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, for conspiring with Ahmed Bola Tinubu, president-elect, and Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State to rig out Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party.
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He tweeted, “But why is @ChibuikeAmaechi only complaining on 18 March? Why did he not complain on Sat 25 Feb 2023 when the same “forces” were used to massively alter @inecnigeria Result Sheets to transfer votes of @PeterObi to another Candidate ? 🤔 Was it okay then to rob Peter to pay Paul?”
The former governor of Rivers State, who came a distant second to the now president-elect, Tinubu, in the APC presidential primaries, accused the INEC chairman during his chat with the press in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, of not only conspiring to rig the Rivers State governorship and state legislative elections but also revealing that Yakubu was recommended by a member of Tinubu’s political camp to protect his interests and front his political ambition.
But why is @ChibuikeAmaechi only complaining on 18 March? Why did he not complain on Sat 25 Feb 2023 when the same “forces” were used to massively alter @inecnigeria Result Sheets to transfer votes of @PeterObi to another Candidate ? 🤔 Was it okay then to rob Peter to pay Paul? pic.twitter.com/Em5nNKsW6v
— Atedo Peterside (@AtedoPeterside) March 19, 2023
Ameachi also revealed that Yakubu used to be a close confidant of Wike when he was the Minister of Education during the administration of the former president, Goodluck Jonathan. He claimed that the INEC chairman used to be the TETFUND chairman when Wike was the Minister of Education.
He said that it will be almost impossible to fight a system that is rigged against these powerful interests. According to him, it is INEC, the police, and these powerful interests against the people.
“I have spoken to everybody before the elections; there are those of us who oppose the reappointment of Mahmood,” Ameachi said. “The person who nominated him for the appointment is a member of Tinubu’s camp, so what are you expecting—success?” the ex-minister of transportation sarcastically asked.
“Here in Rivers State, Mahmood worked under Wike as executive secretary of TETFUND. So what you are having is that APC, SDP, and others are contesting the election not against PDP but against INEC and the police,” he said.
He added that the situation in the country and Rivers State in particular is “completely hopeless.”
