The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Bayelsa State, Mr. Baritor Kpagih, has exposed a plan by some individuals to bribe him to rig the gubernatorial election in the state in favour of their candidate.
He also said there were threats to his life as a result of the electoral body’s decision to cancel election in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, which led to the gubernatorial election being declared “inconclusive”.
While urging politicians to eschew violence and do-or-die politics, Kpagih denied allegations in some quarters that he was a close associate of the immediate-past President Goodluck Jonathan.
In an interview with The Guardian, he said: “Some people tried to bribe me to help them win the governorship election and this itself was a misconception by these individuals. This is because there is no way I can help anybody win an election. Mine was to oversee the process. I can’t falsify results, because they only come to the head office after they have been collated at all other levels. I only stay in the situation room and oversee collation.’’
‘‘I believe it was those who had tried to bribe me before to help them rig the election that are now behind all sorts of stories, being bandied around about me. My refusal had infuriated them and they started by saying I was missing and that I have gone underground and all sorts of stories. People should not take election as a do-or-die affair. I told them, I can’t help them to rig the election and that they should use the money they wanted to bribe me with to go to the grassroots and canvass for the people’s votes.
‘‘Somebody called me on the phone and threatened me and since then, I have been receiving all sorts of threats. These have come through text messages and others. Just on Thursday, two strange people visited my house in Yenagoa. They refused to identify themselves but told my people that they had an appointment with me and I knew for a fact that I didn’t have any appointment with anybody that day.
“Quite a number of people who are my friends have advised me to avoid all the hassles and stay away from Bayelsa State because my safety cannot be guaranteed. But I have a job to do and I am going to see it through,’’ he said.
Reacting to allegations that he became friends with Dr. Jonathan while they were at the Nigeria Customs Service, Kpagih said: ‘‘I joined the customs service as a graduate, while Dr. Jonathan joined as a School Certificate holder. He left the service around 1977 to go to the university. I also went to the university in the same year and after graduation, I joined the service, while he did not return to the service.
‘‘The first time I met him was when he was the vice president and we never had any close relationship. I was retired prematurely, seven years before the mandatory year. If he was my close friend and he was the vice president, wouldn’t he have helped me to stay in service?’’