The Rivers State governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in last Saturday’s elections, Senator Magnus Abe, has said his legal team is studying the results of the election and that he will make his position known soon.
INEC Returning Officer, Prof Akpofure Rim-Rukeh, had on Monday declared candidate of the PDP, Siminaliayi Fubara, who polled 302,614 votes as winner of the election.
Fubara defeated his closest rival, Tonye Cole, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored 95,274 votes. Abe came third with 46,981 votes.
Abe, who spoke with newsmen in Port Harcourt, said he would come out with a far-reaching decision after consulting with his team, and expressed optimism that his decision would get the desired attention.
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He noted that the election in the state was characterised by violence, intimidation and harassment of voters, leading to voter apathy.
He added that, “We are studying the outcome of the election with my team. We are also consulting with the party leadership and we will come out with a far-reaching decision at the end of the day.
“There was state sponsored violence, intimidation and harassment of voters. Traditional rulers were mandated to tell residents who were not ready to vote for the candidate of the leading political party in the state to stay back at their respective homes or risk being killed.”
