Protest As Voters Elect New Council Chiefs in Rivers

The local government election in Rivers State on Saturday was generally peaceful despite the tension that preceded it.
Though the police had said they would not participate in the election in compliance with a federal high court order, convoys of armed policemen were moving along the East-West Road. They did not venture into voting areas.
Isolated cases of violence were recorded in a few places like All Progressives Congress factional office along Aba Road in Port Harcourt, where an explosive was reported to have been thrown at the building.
A case of violence was also reported at Igwuruta in Ikwerre Local Government Area, Elelenwo in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area and Chokocho on Etche Local Government Area. At Igwuruta, Ward 13, some gunmen were said to have chased away voters. At Elelenwo in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, some people did not allow voters to settle down to vote.
Election materials began to arrive the polling units from 9.30am at Eleme Local Government Area. But rules regulating the process were not clear.
In Ward 1, Alesa all the materials were taken to a central place where voters were directed to vote for their candidates. People that turned out to vote in the other polling units waited until they were directed to go to the Central place.
The Chairmanship candidate of the Action Alliance, Chief Mitchel Odagu, alleged that materials meant for many polling units were hijacked and taken to a centralized place. It was the same complaint from Mr. Robert, of the National Rescue Movement at Unit 6, Alesa Ward, who said they were still waiting for election personnel and materials.
Mrs. Tina Collins, the women leader of Non-indigenes in Eleme told the magazine that they had not seen any material or election personnel at 10.50am. It was a similar scenario at Mao Unit and Nda polling units.
At the neighbouring Alode Ward 2, election personnel moved the election personnel and materials from unit to unit, where waiting voters were allowed to vote after which the materials were moved to another unit.
At 11.35am, collation had begun at Ogale Ward 3. The magazine was told that voting had been concluded in the units and the results moved to the collation unit at Aluebo Hall.
Voting took place for the second time in ten years at Ekporo Ward 6, whose residents had been displaced after a communal conflict with their neighbours. John Ngelale, a former councillor representing the community, said elections there was peaceful.
There was however a protest march by supporters of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who marched from Polo Field, G.R.A. in Port Harcourt to the state secretariat of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RISIEC. They alleged that the election did not hold as ordered by an Abuja Federal High Court. Some of the placards displayed by the protesters read, “No to Anarchy.” “No to Oppression.” “No to Things Being Done Anyhow.”
The protesters led by Michael Chinda, a former Member of Rivers State House of Assembly, said the attempt to hold the local government election was a call to anarchy. “We are gathered here to say there’s no election. We are here telling the people that there’s no election anywhere,” Chinda said.
The Action Peoples Party, APP, Chairmanship candidate for Obio/Akpor Local Government, Chijioke Ihunwo, condemned the protest by supporters of the FCT Minister.
In another development, the state secretariat of a faction of the All Progressives Congress, APC, along Aba Road was attacked with an explosive device. Though no life was lost in the incident, the factional chairman of the faction, Mr. Tony Okocha, said the aim was to destabilize the party in the state.
He said he got a call from the administrative officer of the party about the attack on the secretariat. “We need security to keep APC members safe. It is not that we cannot unleash mayhem. But we won’t take the law into our hands,,” he said.