The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has named the seventeen local government areas of Rivers State where results have been collated and ready for announcement.
And they include: Ahoada East, Bonny, Akuku-Toru, Obio-Akpor, Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni, Omuma, Port Harcourt, Ikwerre, Emohua, Tai, Opobo-Nkoro, Andoni ,Eleme, Etche, Ogu–Bolo, Oyigbo, Okrika.
The commission also named Adoada West, Asari Toru, Degema, Abua Odual, Khana and Gokana as the remaining six local government areas where the commission is expected to commence collation of electoral results.
The INEC Administrative Secretary in Rivers State, Elder Etim Umoh, who made the revelation at the stakeholders meeting in Port Harcourt noted that election did not hold in Abua-Odual Local Government area while the process will be concluded in the other five LGAs.
National Commissioner Supervising Bayelsa, Edo, and Rivers State, May Agbamuche-Mbu, in her address, advised stakeholders including traditional rulers, religious leaders, political leaders and youths to allow peace to reign before, during and after the conclusion of the collations of the Governorship and State House of Assembly elections.
Agbamuche-Mbu, at the stakeholders meeting held around Eastern By-Pass, Port Harcourt, said the meeting is aimed at providing the people with the opportunity to understand the regulations and guidelines for the conduct the suspended elections and collations of results.
In his remarks, the Chairman, Inter-Agency Consultative Security Committee, Usman Belel, who is the Commissioner of Police in Rivers State, harped on the need for stakeholders to allow peace to reign just as he reiterated the command’s resolve to ensure there’s no violence in the forthcoming supplementary elections and collations of results.
Reports has it that a little drama ensued when the Governorship Candidate of Advance Peoples Democratic Alliance, APDA, Isreal Warigbani demanded to know if INEC was aware of several litigations against it, but was shouted down.
Warigbani stormed out of the meeting and spoke with newsmen outside the venue.
On his part, the Governorship Candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, Biokpomoma Awara demanded to know how INEC arrived at the resolution on the seventeen and six affected Local government areas.
“When the administrative secretary was presenting his report he said the election was suspended because violence and I want to ask that at what point the election became violence-free that INEC was now able to conclude collation in the 17 Local government areas. What is INEC not telling us,” Awara queried.
Meanwhile, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure that the Nigeria Army does not participate in the conclusion of the electoral process in the state.
The Governor, while advising the INEC to take note of some of the issues raised at the meeting especially the issue of litigations, also dismissed reports that Rivers State is characterized with violence, but claimed that the Federal government is merely interested in the resources of the state which is the major cause of violence.
“The only way you can have peaceful election is when the security agencies refuse to manipulate the elections. The Army snatched results and when the people resisted them, the Army killed them. The violence was at the point of Collation.
“Throughout my political career, I have never seen the kind of role , the Army played. What has happened to the Police Officer indicted for manhandling of INEC Staff during the rerun in 2016. The same officer played negative roles in this last elections “.
INEC Residents Electoral Commissioner in Rivers state, Obo Efanga was not in attendance, just as Accord Party, Social Democratic Party and Labour Party were also not present at the meeting. (DP)
