Rivers State Governor to Swear in Newly Elected Council Chairmen Amidst Election Violence
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, will today, Sunday, October 6, 2024, swear in the newly elected council chairmen at the Executive Council Chambers, Government House, Port Harcourt, the state capital, at 4 pm. The ceremony comes amid concerns over the conduct of the local government elections in the state.
According to a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Tammy Danagogo, the newly elected chairmen, along with one guest each, are expected to be seated by 3:30 pm. The Chairman of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, Justice Adolphus Enebeli (retd.), declared 22 chairmanship candidates of the Action Peoples Party as winners of the October 5, 2024, local government elections in the state.
Enebeli declared the results in Port Harcourt on Saturday, stating that the candidates scored a majority of valid votes cast in two-thirds of their respective wards in the 22 local governments. However, he added that the result of the chairmanship position for Etche LG was stood down due to the extensive landscape with 19 wards, which slowed down the collation process.
Unfortunately, the election was marred by violence in some areas, where suspected political thugs and men in police uniforms wreaked havoc. At Elekahia Primary School in Port Harcourt City LGA, RSIEC officers and voters scrambled for safety as 21 Hilux patrol vans with heavily armed men drove into the election venue and fired tear gas canisters.
Two explosions were also reported at the All Progressives Congress secretariat along Aba Road and the Obio/Akpor Local Government secretariat. The state police command said its units responded swiftly, visiting the scenes and collecting samples for investigation.
Moreover, RSIEC officials were absent in Ward 9, Rumueprikom, Obio/Akpor LG, the hometown of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesome Wike. A voter, who identified herself as Oluchi, said, “Election did not hold in Rumuiprikom; that’s what we noticed. But in other places, they’re doing elections. We don’t even know what happened.”
Similar situations were observed on NTA Road, Mgbuoba, and Ozuoba communities in Obio/Akpor LG. Despite these challenges, the swearing-in ceremony will proceed as planned, marking a new chapter in the governance of Rivers State.
