From Willie Etim and Blessing Ibunge, Port Harcourt
As the 2019 general elections draws near, the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has declared that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) lacks the capacity to conduct credible polls.
Governor Wike made the assertion on Tuesday when the German Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. Bernhard Shlagheck, visited him at the Government House, Port Harcourt.
Wike therefore called on the international community to monitor Nigeriaa��s electoral process to stop INEC from manipulating the 2019 elections.
He said: “INEC does not have the capacity to hold free and fair elections. Look at what happened in Kano State. INEC says it wants to investigate the under-age voting that took place last week.
“Who gave the children the voter cards? We will not allow anyone to manipulate the electoral system of the country,” Wike warned.
The governor said that due to the failure of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the party plans to use INEC and security agencies to create crisis and manipulate the electoral system.
He said that the cries over the order of elections by the ruling APC revealed their intention to manipulate the process.
The governor urged the German Ambassador to ensure that the Federal Government is committed to the development of the Niger Delta region.
He said that despite the huge resources produced in the Niger Delta, the people had been denied access to infrastructural development.
Earlier, Shlagheck lauded Governor Wike for his investments in infrastructure.
The envoy said that he was in Rivers State as part of his familiarisation tour of the Niger Delta, adding that he started with Rivers State because of the importance of the state in the structure of the region.
He called on all political stakeholders to work for the success of the 2019 general elections.
INEC cana��t conduct credible polls in 2019 – Wike
