Governor Nyesom Wike has challenged the legality of allowing the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress Party (APC) in the state, Dakuku Peterside, scan or photocopy the ballot papers used for the April 11 governorship poll.

While arguing before the tribunal sitting in Abuja on Wednesday, Wike, through his lawyer Emmanuel Ukala, insisted that allowing Peterside to photocopy any of the sensitive election materials would pose a serious security risk to the people of Rivers state.

The lawyer said, “We vehemently oppose this application. The security risk that will arise from allowing the petitioners to scan and photocopy the election materials, especially the ballot papers is real. Granting this application will amount to permitting a private individual to keep a record of a public document.

“The inherent danger in that is that a private individual can put such document to any use, including identifying the pattern of voting and linking individual voters to the political party or candidate they voted for.”

Janeth J