AA Candidate Douglas Petitions INEC and IGP, Rejects Rivers Bye‑Election Result

By Daniel Abia, Port Harcourt

Dr. Douglas Fabeke, the Action Alliance (AA) candidate in the June 20 bye‑election for Rivers South‑East Senatorial District, has filed petitions with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Inspector‑General of Police alleging irregularities during the vote.

In petitions dated June 22, addressed to INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan and Inspector‑General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, Fabeke demanded an independent investigation into the conduct of the election.

He claims widespread malpractice, voter suppression, intimidation, violence and result manipulation occurred across the seven local government areas that comprise the senatorial district.

Fabeke accuses certain INEC officials and security agents of collusion to favour the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Senator Olaka Nwogu.

He alleges that electoral materials were diverted, and that ballot papers for his party were destroyed in several locations.

He also points to incidents where officials failed to conduct vote counting properly, where BVAS machines malfunctioned, and where eligible voters were allegedly disenfranchised.

Fabeke further claims that vote‑buying took place in multiple communities, with voters offered amounts ranging from ₦1,000 to ₦5,000 to influence their choices.

He accuses some electoral officials of interfering in the voting process, including manual thumb‑printing of ballot papers and inflating figures in favour of the PDP.

Fabeke says that security personnel deployed for the election did not intervene in incidents of violence and intimidation, and in some cases allegedly obstructed the electoral process.

He states: “I hereby reject the result announced by INEC as the process that produced the declared outcome was compromised by widespread irregularities, violence, intimidation, voter suppression and manipulation.”

Fabeke calls for a full investigation into the conduct of the election, the preservation and forensic review of all electoral materials—including BVAS data, result sheets and ballot papers—and urges INEC to declare him the rightful winner after a review of the process.