₦airaland Forum

The local government election held in Rivers State on Saturday was characterised by low turnout as many voters stayed indoors as a result of the downpour and the controversy surrounding the conduct of the poll.

SUNDAY PUNCH observed that some of the election officers in Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor Local Government Area had to wait for the heavy rain that started at about 8.30 am to subside before they could get ready for the exercise.

The electoral officer at the Nkpola Oroworukwo Town Hall who identified himself as Henry said the weather condition delayed the commencement of the poll, adding that the turnout of voters was low.

Henry explained that though the exercise should have ended 3pm, it was extended as a result of the delay caused by the torrential rain.

He said, ‘‘We did not start early because of the rain and after the rain, people are not coming in droves. Voters are coming in low numbers.

“But that does not remove the fact that the exercise has so far been peaceful. The election will end as soon as we get directives from our superior officers.”

At the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, the situation was not different as electoral officers waited for voters to come and cast their votes. The usual long queues experienced during elections were absent.

The All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party in the state had been at daggers drawn over the conduct of the council election.

While the PDP had described it as an illegality because the State Independent Electoral Commission did not give 90 days’ notice to political parties before conducting the election, the APC in the state insisted that there was nothing illegal about the exercise.

In his reaction, the Chief of Staff, Government House, Mr. Tony Okocha, who is the APC leader in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, described the election as peaceful and devoid of violence.

Okocha told SUNDAY PUNCH that unlike during the presidential and governorship elections, he was able to vote for the first time.

Reminded that about 18 political parties had earlier withdrawn from the exercise, Okocha said their action was based on the parties’ rejection of the funds given to them by RSIEC.

“RSIEC had given each of political parties about N3 million, but they (parties) said it was not enough. RSIEC had assured them that the money would be given to them in tranches, but they said that was not what they bargained for,” he said.

However, the Publicity Secretary of the PDP in the state, Mr. Samuel Nwanosike, described the council election as trash and an illegality, noting that a Federal High Court had asked that the status quo be maintained.

Nwanosike stated that spending N4.5bn on council elections when workers and pensioners were owed months of salaries was unnecessary.

He stated that the Independent National Electoral Commission had said it (INEC) did not release voter register to RSIEC for the conduct of the council poll.

Nwanosike added, “It (council election) is a trash; it is an illegality. We in the PDP see it as a sheer waste of Rivers resources. There is nothing on earth that will make the election stand. How could they (government) spend N4.5bn to conduct election when workers and pensioners have not been paid for months?”

Source: http://www.punchng.com/news/low-turnout-mars-rivers-council-poll/

People r scared for their life. Election in Rivers b lyk world war 1

People are scared for their life. Election in Rivers b lyk world war 1.

What nut has left Amaechi's brain? I don't understand why he has increased in stupidity. This man is partly responsible why GMB is hated in the state. He has even destroyed the judiciary which brought him to power, and he is yet to pay some their pension. Where are Wole Soyinka and Falana? Is a case like this not too dangerous for silence? Time shall tell.