The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has suspended National Assembly elections in Port Harcourt City Local Government Area of Rivers state.
Those bullying and threatening the State Presidential Election Collation Officer and Vice-Chancellor, Federal University, Otuoke, Prof. Teddy Adias, have been warned to steer clear.
Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr. Johnson Sinikiem, said the senatorial election in Port Harcourt and PHALGA II House of Representatives poll was suspended following alleged irregularities.
Announcing the suspension on Tuesday, February 28, Sinikiem said the commission would conduct thorough investigations to decide the next line of action.
Sinikiem said;
“I want to urge the public and our critical stakeholders to know that the function of a state collation officer is just to collate results of elections conducted at the various Local Government Areas of the State.
“He is not a supervising presiding officer nor a presiding officer that conducts elections at the polling units. He is only collating results already collated at the local government area level that cannot be changed except by the verdict of an Election Tribunal.
“I urge those concerned, to seize forthwith in unleashing threats because his job does not involve accreditation, voting, counting, computation, validation of votes by parties at primary and Secondary levels”.