Amaechi’s phone numbers cloned

The mobile telephone numbers of Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, were cloned by unknown persons hours before the governorship and House of Assembly elections on Saturday.

The cloned phone numbers were thereafter used to send fake text messages, discouraging people from coming out to vote for candidates of their choices.

In a brief statement sent to journalists while the election lasted, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. David Iyofor, called on voters to disregard the fake text messages, pointing out that Amaechi’s position was for the people to come out in droves to exercise their civic responsibilities.

He said: “This is to inform members of the public that the telephone numbers of Governor Rotimi Amaechi have been cloned and the criminals who did the cloning are using it to send out fake text messages to people not to come out and vote. Please that text message is not from Governor Amaechi.

“The Governor’s position remains that Rivers’ voters should come out to vote today (Saturday). People should disregard that fake text message.”

Meanwhile, the governor during his accreditation in Ubima, his hometown in the Ikwerre Local Government Area earlier on Saturday, accused the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Mrs. Gecila Khan, of working tirelessly to ensure victory for the Peoples Democratic Party in Rivers.

Amaechi, who arrived the community in company with his wife, Judith, around 11:20am, said the irregularities witnessed during voting in the state was as a result of the refusal of the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, to change Khan as REC in the state.

He said: “I am disappointed at the INEC for not redeploying the REC. She is the reason why we encountered problem of thugs hijacking electoral materials.

“Some people and officials of INEC were ambushed with important electoral materials carted away. All these things are not supposed to be. I heard elections did not hold in several places like in Obio/Akpor, Asari-Toru and other places in the state. But if she had been changed, things wouldn’t have been like this.”

Also on Saturday, INEC’s National Commissioner in Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Rivers states, Thelma Iremiren, while debunking rumours that electoral materials distributed in Rivers were fake, said: “We received with dismay news that materials in the field were fake. We wish to inform the public, especially the people of Rivers State that no fake materials were ever released by INEC into the field and as such, voters should go out and vote their leaders.”

Saturday’s governorship election in the oil-rich Rivers witnessed low turnout of voters as a result of heightened tension in the area. In most of the wards and polling units visited, barely half of the number that turned out during the March 28 Presidential elections came out to exercise their rights this time. There was heavy security presence in many parts of Port Harcourt, while the exercise lasted.