The Labour Party’s Peter Obi was reported to have won the presidential election in Rivers State, however the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has criticized the allegation.
Recall that the electoral body had declared Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for president, the winner of the presidential election in the South-South state.
According to INEC, Obi received 3,829 votes to finish second in the council while Tinubu received 80,239 votes to win in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.
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However, according to data posted on the INEC data Viewing Portal (IReV), according to a report by Premium Times, the LP flagbearer won the presidential election in Obio/Akpor LGA and ultimately won the contest in Rivers.
Rotimi Oyekanmi, the INEC chairman’s chief press secretary, said Premium Times reserves the right to publish news on a variety of topics in an interview with LEADERSHIP on Monday in Abuja. He also said he respects press freedom.
However, Oyekanmi claimed that the news source’s story was “prejudicial” because the subject was already before the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal.
He said: “While Premium Times reserves the right to publish reports on various issues, it is a known fact that when a matter is before a court, no one, including a media organisation, should comment on it.
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“What the media house did by publishing a report on a matter before the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal was, unfortunately, prejudicial. It shouldn’t have been done. I don’t know why they did it or what their intention is.
“It is for this reason that I cannot comment on it.”
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