…Laud RSIEC for job well done
By Barth Ndubuwah, Port Harcourt
Six political parties in Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State in the recently concluded council polls have unanimously endorsed and adopted the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Mr Erastus Awortu as the people’s wish, noting that the era of political godfatherism was over.
Chairmanship candidates representing the various political parties made their position known at a joint press conference on Wednesday in Port Harcourt.
The parties also reafirmed their confidence in the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), adding that the election was transparent and as such, post election litigations were unnecessary.
According to their resolution read in part- “For us political stakeholders in Andoni and candidates in the contest, we can clearly state that the election was not lost, but won because PDP’s victory is our collective victory, we will support the new administration in its positive vision for the people.
“Indeed Erastus Awortu is the man for the job”,the statement said.
The resolution was duly signed by chairmanship candidates from six political parties that contested in the council poll- Mr Esuku Esuku of the Accord Party(AP), Mr Erasmus Inemente of African Democratic Congress(ADC), Mr Charles Otowo of Action Peoples Party (APP) and Amie Elisha Simeon of the Allied People’s Movement (APM).
Others are: Mr Michael Dodd of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Mr Abraham Ijong-Iye of the Zenith Labour Party(ZLP).
You would recall that the PDP candidate,Mr Erastus Awortu recorded a landslide victory in the said election, having polled a total of 107,658 votes as against his closest rival, the Labour Party candidate who came second with 4,702 votes.
Receiving his certificate of return from RSIEC, the chairman elect, Awortu said that the certificate was a testimonial to the high level success recorded during the election.
“I’m impressed with RSIEC for their competence during the election.
“I’m also impressed with my constituents for creating an enabling atmosphere for the electoral body to conduct a credible process and I assure you on my commitment to repositioning the area for growth.
“We look forward to addressing our collective concerns bothering on security, infrastructure and poverty in the area,” Awortu said.