* Says the electoral body has surrendered its independence to the ruling APC 

 * Calls for immediate conclusion of Rivers election

Otunba Nicholas Tofowomo, the Senator-elect in Ondo South, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to desist from acting the script of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to subvert the will of Nigerians with the introduction of a new political lexicon called “Inconclusive Election” in perpetuating electoral malpractices in favour of the ruling party.

In a statement made available to newsmen in Akure by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Akirnrinlola Olumide, the Senator-elect accused INEC of surrendering its independence to the ruling  APC in a desperate attempt to subvert the will of the people of River State.

He says the electoral umpire has now become controversial with Nigerians calling them a new name as: “Inconclusive National Electoral Commission (INEC) instead of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The full statement reads:

“I wish to call on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to desist from acting the script of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to subvert the will of Nigerians with the introduction of a new political lexicon called “Inconclusive Election” in perpetuating electoral malpractices in favour of the ruling party.

“The protracted delays and inability by INEC to declare the winner of Rivers State Governorship election since March 9, 2019 till date shows that the electoral umpire under Mr. Yakubu Mahmood has surrendered its independence to the ruling APC – a confirmation that INEC is a department of the ruling party.

“Or what could have led to the unexplainable suspension in collating already declared results at various polling units in River State by INEC till this moment? Isn’t it obvious that the electoral body is acting the script of the ruling APC to perfect manipulation of election results for their adopted party, Africa Congress Party (AAC), after the court had excluded them from fielding Candidate in the election due to their impunity in producing candidates for the just concluded general election in Nigeria.

“Who doesn’t know that River State is a base of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) just like Katsina is a base of the ruling APC? Moreover, the APC does not have a candidate in the just concluded election in Rivers State. But they want to put River State on fire by attempting to steal the People’s mandate through a proxy (AAC) after the electorates had given the Mandate to Governor Nyesome Wike of the PDP in the last election.

“It may interest the INEC chairman to know that under his watch, the institution has already become controversial, with some set of Nigerians calling them with a new name: “Inconclusive National Electoral Commission (INEC)” instead of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) because they have been compromised and obviously become partisan.

“On this note, I hereby call on INEC to stop making a mockery of Nigeria’s electoral system by concluding the Rivers State governorship election and declare the true winner of the election without further delay,” Tofowomo said.