Amaechi Gets Certificate Of Return, Warns Elected Politicians

Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi has warned the newly elected public office holders that the era of taking the people for granted has gone for good.

According to him, this is because the outcome of the last national elections, where votes counted, should serve as a signal to politicians that power truly belongs to the people.

Governor Amaechi, who was speaking shortly after receiving his Certificate of Return from INEC in Port Harcourt, advised politicians not to take the people for granted, noting that the only way to retain the confidence of the electorate is for elected officials to remember that elections are a call to serve the people.

“Our citizens have learnt how to queue up, to vote and protect their votes, meaning that the opportunity to rig election is now eliminated, because the people now decide who should be their leaders, and therefore we must not take them for granted,” he stated.

He explained that the process leading to election of members of the National Assembly, the governor and the state House of Assembly members should teach everyone a lesson, which requires them to brace up to the challenge of discharging their responsibilities creditably to enable the PDP maintain its lead in the state.

Governor thanked INEC Chairman Prof. Atthairu Jega, for conducting an election that was adjudged free, fair and credible by both local and international observers, stressing that the achievement would not have been possible without the cooperation of the security agencies and INEC staff.

The governor noted that unlike the past elections in Rivers State, the April general election did not witness any violence, and recorded no deaths, adding, the security operatives carried out their duties effectively.

By Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt

He regretted that the councillorship primaries in the state, which some persons consider a lesser election, had already claimed three lives in Rivers State, and therefore promised to deploy the security commanders to provide adequate security for the local government council elections.

Earlier, the Chairman of INEC Prof Atthairu Jega, congratulated all those that were elected and urged them to see their victory as a triumph of the democratic process as well as a call to duty.

The INEC Chairman who was represented by Mrs. Thelma Iremiren, said on assumption of office in June 2010, he promised Nigerians that the 2011 elections would be one of the fairest and most credible elections that would hold in the country.

The INEC boss therefore tasked those holding political offices to render services and having the wisdom and courage to take the right decision that would better the lives of the people, while appealing to members of the National Assembly to take a second look at the Electoral Act 2010,so as to strengthen the democratic process.

In his welcome address, the Rivers State Resident Electoral Commissioner, (REC) Elder Aniedi Ikoiwak, said the Certificate of Return is an official testimonial issued to those elected as required by the law.

Elder Ikoiwak said Rivers State witnessede peace during the elections, and commended all those that contributed to the peaceful conduct of the elections in the state.

The Certificate of Return was issued to all the recently elected candidates in Rivers State, except the House of Representatives-elect for Opobo/Nkoro-Andoni constituency, Hon. Dakuku Peterside, who was absent, and the State House of Assembly-elect for Ahoada West, whose certificate would be presented at a later date.