Weeks after the 2015 general electionas, the Rivers State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Gesila Khan, on Thursday said that the criticisms against her before, during and after the polls meant nothing to her.
Khan said her critics did so because they lost the election and that it was normal for losers to give excuses on why they lost.
Intense criticisms had trailed the conduct and outcome of the 2015 elections in Rivers, especially from members and supporters of the All Progressives Congress.
But speaking on Thursday in Port Harcourt shortly after receiving an award of merit from the Joint Assembly of Rivers State Youths, the state REC said she did her best in conducting the elections in the state, describing the exercise as “very successful.”
The REC said she knew that Rivers State would be tough to handle, saying she could have avoided coming to the state if it was within her power to do so, after serving in Delta.
She said, “The criticism against me was nothing. Normally, in life, when there is a game; like I would say, politics is a game, everybody wants to be a winner and when they fail, they look for excuses. So, that was it.
“For me, the election in Rivers State was very successful because before the elections, I was in Delta State. Moving down to Rivers State on the 5th of January, 2015, you could sense the tension.
“I was not comfortable when I was posted to Rivers State because I was coming from another tough terrain. If it was possible for me to avert it, I would have done that. We saw the flashpoints in Rivers and every local government area was a flashpoint.”
She, however, expressed gratitude to God that none of the INEC employees and the 26,000 ad hoc staff in the state was killed or injured during the exercise.
“The election was feared because even in my sensitisation programme, I kept telling people that the states that would be used to adjudge this year’s election were Kano, Delta and Rivers.
“I know it would be challenging. I thank God and I thank the youths of Rivers State that they refused to be a party to that. We knew Rivers State was going to be tense. So, we were sleeping in the office. I even slept on the floor because I had to give up my sit for the visiting people,” she added.
President of the youth group, Mr. Gashon Achor, who presented the award to Khan, described her as a woman with a lion’s heart.
“While the REC was educating the masses on the need for a peaceful election, she focused more on the youths who are often the target group in terms of violence during and after elections. This, we believe, was borne out of the love she has for the youths as a mother,” Achor said.
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