The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has questioned the motive behind Premium Time's recent report, claiming the actual winner of the February 25th presidential election in Rivers State, was Labour Party's candidate Peter Obi, and not Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to Premium Times, Obi won the February 25th, 2023, presidential election in Obio/Akpor local government area of Rivers State, South-South Nigeria, according to results uploaded on the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV).
INEC had announced that Tinubu polled 80,239 votes and Obi got 3,829 votes. Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored 368 votes while Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party got 161 votes.
But INEC, which has also been dragged to court by the Labour Party for conducting the most atrocious elections in the history of the country, which saw Tinubu against all odds, emerged winner of the election, didn't deny the report, but claimed it is prejudicial.
“While the Premium Times reserves the right to publish reports on various issues, it is a known fact that when a matter is before a court, no one, including a media organisation, should comment on it,” chief press secretary to the INEC chairman, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi told LEADERSHIP.
He said what the media house did by publishing a report on a matter before the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal was, “unfortunately, prejudicial. It shouldn’t have been done. I don’t know why they did it or what their intention is.
“It is for this reason that I cannot comment on it,” he said.
Rivers State is widely seen as one of Labour Party's stronghold in the last election, and only likely to be rivaled by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since the state is historically a PDP State. However, the impossible happened when in it's desperation to win the last election, the ruling Party in cohort with the State's Governor, Nyesom Wike, rigged the election in favour of the APC.
Peter Obi's supporters and rational political analysts, believed the anomaly experienced in Rivers State in the last election, has put to question the integrity of the entire process.
Obi is currently challenging Tinubu's victory in court.