D-Day of Rivers crisis: Mixed bag marks LGA election

The tension-soaked local council election in troubled Rivers State took off this morning, Saturday October 5, 2024, as voting is taking place in some while nothing is happening in some other places.

The physical battle to stop the election began Friday morning when the police first withdrew from the election control centre (Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC) and later came back in a crack squad. The governor, Sim Fubara, countered their presence by storming the place. The police later said they went there to stop a fire alert, but the governor said the police went to ‘cart away’ election materials.

The camp opposed to election urged Rivers people not to come out, while the government urged people to come out and vote.

Read also: Police respond to Fubara’s allegations amid election tensions

On election day, voting took place in most places, but did not take place in some others.

The places with strong presence of Nyesom Wike, FCT Minister, did not witness voting. Other areas had voting going on.

Some units did not see officials to conduct the voting.

In Okuruama town in Okrika LGA, voting was going on by 9.30am. Voting was also taking place at Egbeda in Emuoha LGA. Same in Khana LGA, but parts of Okrika witnessed late arrival of electoral materials. In parts of Etche, people were ready but the materials were yet to arrive by 9.3am.

In Bodo and Bori towns of Gokana LGA and Khana LGA, voting started late, while in Ozuoba in Obio/Akpor LGA, people were still waiting as at 9.46am.

In Obual/Odual, there were no signs of voting yet by 10am. In Phalga (half of Port Harcourt City), it was same mixed bag of voting going on in some places and nothing happening in other places.
In Andoni LGA area, a source, Ben Joseph, said voting was going on.

In Elelenwo (Obio/Akpor) where Wike has a string person, the units were not open for voting. A young man told newsmen that the strong man of the community who is in the House of Assembly ensured no election would take place.
The roads were empty in all parts of the state capital in compliance of the no-movement order of the state government.

Read also: Shoot me if you like – Gov Fubara to IG of police

Why the mixed bag:

The Wike camp led by Tony Okocha (acclaimed APC leader), kicked against the election on the ground that it was being held outside the time stipulated by the state electoral law of 2018.
The inner meaning however was that the Wike camp had divided into two with Fubara leading one.

Most of the LGA council chairmen were Wike’s henchmen and presumed enforcers. Wike had also boasted of throwing out Fubara in 2027 or even before it. Fubara thus felt that any election in the LGAs with Wike henchmen in charge would produce enemies that would ensure the governor does not return. He was not able to dissolve the councils to appoint his loyalists because the Aso Rock Agreement ordered against such move. So, Fubara allowed the tenure to run to the end by June 17, 2024.

Having realized that the LGA election would no longer favour the Wike camp, they now withdrew from it and instituted several court processes to stop the election.

Some courts ordered the election to ahead while some from Abuja ruled against it. So, each camp seems to be obeying the court order that favoured its interests.

Results are expected to be declared and winners may be sworn in soon. Then, the next phase of the struggle would ensue.

The biggest observation however is that shooting and killing are not much except in a part of Igwuruta where some boys shot and carried away materials. The police withdrew from protecting the election.