Wike Tells President Buhari To Dissolve INEC

Following the cancellation of the legislative re-run elections in Rivers State, the state government has called for the dissolution of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under the leadership of Prof.Mahmood Yakubu.

INEC had initially cancelled the election due to violence and fixed a new date, July 30, to conclude the poll, but on Tuesday, July 26, the Commission suspended the process again.

The latest cancellation has sparked outrage from rival political parties and the people of Rivers State.

In a statement by the state Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dr. Austin Tam-George, it call on the Federal Government to disband INEC, describing it as "incompetent."

He accused the Commission of colluding with the All Progressives Congress (APC) to prevent the election from taking place.

“The government of Rivers State and people of Rivers State are shocked by the bare-faced collusion between INEC and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to subvert democracy in the state”.

“It is completely unacceptable that Rivers State would continue to be denied full representation in the National Assembly due to the incompetence and malpractices orchestrated by INEC,” Tam-George said.

"We call on the presidency and the National Assembly to act urgently in the national interest to disband INEC as presently constituted, for its incompetence and open partisanship.

“We call on the international community to initiate and maintain diplomatic pressure on the federal government, which continues to frustrate the independence of INEC, and the evolution of democratic diversity in Nigeria”.

“The people of Rivers state will continue to resist and defeat the medieval authoritarianism of the APC” the statement said.

However, the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, the Director General of State Service, Mr. Musa Daura, the Minister of Transport, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi and the Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Nyesome Wike, met on Tuesday night and signed a peace agreement to guarantee a violence-free and credible re-run election.

INEC is yet to fix a new date for the election.