The result of the elections could not be announced by INEC, as scheduled, as elections were postponed in some parts of the state on Saturday, due to the late commencement of accreditation exercise and the failure of the card readers in some voting units.
Peterside, Senator Magnus Abe, Chief of Staff to the Government House, Chief Tony Okocha and other prominent members of the party, as well as their supporters, besieged the Rivers INEC office, alleging that there was no election in the state.
The APC governorship candidate and Senator Abe specifically accused the state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mrs Gesila Khan, of working in the interest of the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Several supporters of the party were seen chanting anti-INEC songs and carried placards with various inscriptions.
Peterside, who said he had been standing at the gate of the INEC office for over two hours but could not see the REC, accused the woman of playing a key role in the subversion of the will of the people of the state, during the election on Saturday.
Speaking with newsmen, the APC governorship candidate said, "what you are seeing here are registered voters who are supporters of the APC.
"They are here to protest the fact that yesterday (Saturday), they were not allowed to exercise their franchise.
"They got to their various polling units only to discover that there were no result sheets and without the result sheets, the election cannot be conducted, in compliance with the Electoral Law.
"In substance, there were no elections anywhere in Rivers State, at least in 20 local government areas. Apart from the fact that there were no result sheets, the few places where accreditation was done, results were not announced at the polling booths, in accordance with the law.
"Results were not collated at the various local government areas. We later heard that results are being collated at various homes around the city of Port Harcourt and the suburbs.
"So, we are here to register our protest. There were no elections in Rivers State and violence was visited on our people.
"Over 10 persons died in various locations in Rivers State. Over 65 of our members were arrested by the police and the military.
"We are calling for elections and not cancellation because there was no election. All we ask for is that please, can we vote? There are two different things; we are saying there were no elections at all and not that elections were not held.
"As you can see, we have been here for two hours and they said the REC is not available. Some person who identified himself as the administrative secretary of INEC in Rivers State received our petition. But we are insisting that we must see the electoral commissioner because she played a key role in subverting the will of Rivers people."
Also speaking, Senator Abe claimed that he was nearly killed at his Ward 16 in Gokana Local Government Area, allegedly by suspected thugs.
He also accused the state INEC of working for PDP in the state, saying the PDP national chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu'azu, would have conducted a fairer and more credible election than Mrs Khan.
Abe, who represents Rivers South-East senatorial district, said there was no election in his ward, adding that "people could not vote. Even when people were accredited, when they wanted to vote and they asked of the result sheets to collate whatever they voted, there was none.
"People came, shot guns and carted away the materials. So, I went to the police station with my local government council chairman, Kadilo Kabari, to brief the DSS.
"When we got there, all the so-called INEC staff were all PDP members and they were there in the police station, thumb-printing and thumb-printing.
"The council chairman then called the police to say ‘what is happening in your station? And you call yourself a policeman'. These hoodlums descended on him. He is currently in the hospital."
Reacting however, the Rivers PDP governorship candidate, Chief Nyesom Wike and chairman of the party, Mr Felix Obuah, described last Saturday's election as a reflection of the wishes of the people, advising Governor Rotimi Amaechi and the APC leadership to face the reality of their loss.
Wike, in a statement issued on Sunday, said it was disheartening that the governor "is still clinging desperately to propaganda, after people from all the local government areas of Rivers State spoke through their ballot papers on Saturday, telling him in very clear terms that they were tired of his misrule, corruption and executive arrogance.
He said elections took place in all the local government areas in the state, adding that "of course, there was no way Amaechi would have known the reality when he fled to Government House, Port Harcourt, to continue his anti-people scheming after the security agencies refused to allow him cause mayhem."
In the same vein, the PDP chairman, Obuah, described the election as credible and a reflection of the wish of the people to support President Goodluck Jonathan.
"Rivers State is a traditional PDP state and even if the elections are conducted a million times, PDP will win here.
"Was the APC expecting Rivers people to vote for another presidential candidate other than President Jonathan? That must be a wishful thinking," he said.
He also said there was nothing in the conduct of the election that would warrant the call for its cancellation and described such a call as the behaviour of bad losers.
Obuah condemned the alleged resort to violence and falsehood by members of APC and vehemently denies allegations of violence levelled against PDP members in the state.
He said the allegation of violence against PDP members were diversionary and orchestrated by APC to disrupt the election, when it became clear to its members that PDP would win the state.
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