BLESSING OKORITE
There is fear and anxiety in Rivers State. This is because, tomorrow April 2 and Friday, April 5 are the days fixed by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to conclude the outstanding electoral process of the governorship and state House of Assembly in the state, earlier suspended on March 10, 2019 over alleged violence that marred the polls.
The question remains who become the governor of Rivers State as the 2019 electoral circle winds up. While the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, hopes that its candidate, who is the incumbent governor, Nyesom Wike, will be re-elected, the African Action Congress, AAC, under the shadow of the All Progressives Congress, APC, expresses no vote of confidence on the credibility of the outcome of the result, even as they believed that their governorship candidate, Biokpomabo Awara, will emerge victoriously.
On Wednesday, March 27, INEC office in Rivers State reminded the general public and all stakeholders of the schedule of activities for the completion of the outstanding electoral process.
In a statement signed by Mr. Edwin Enabor, Head of Department, Voter Education and Publicity, INEC states: “According to the timetable, a stakeholders meeting is scheduled for Saturday, March 30, while the resumption of collation and announcement of results will hold between April 2 and 5. Supplementary election will be conducted where necessary on April 13, results will be announced between April 13 and 15, while Certificates of Return will be issued on April 19.”
Continuing, he said: “The identified activities for the conclusion of the process flow from the careful auditing by the Fact-Finding Team set up by the Commission Headquarters to review the circumstances that led to the suspension of the process.”
The Commission also appealed to Rivers people to embrace the resumed electoral activities towards bringing a closure to the 2019 general election.
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Meanwhile, in as much as INEC has pleaded for the understanding of the people of Rivers State towards the conclusion of the electoral process, the delay in declaring the results has created room for distrust on the commission.
For days now, there has been festival of protests in the state against or in support of the continue collation of the election results by INEC.
Two different groups of women had on Thursday protested in the state, either demanding for the removal or retention of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Obo Effanga.
One group took their protest to the INEC office along Aba-Port Harcourt Road, where they threatened to remain and possibly go naked should the REC not be removed.
The other marched to the state headquarters of the Department of State Services, DSS, and the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, at Forces Avenue and Moscow Road, respectively.
The protest against the REC by some women under the aegis of Initiative for Leadership and Empowerment demanded the outright cancellation of the electoral process, adding that the collated results have been tampered with.
The women walked to the office of INEC, where they were received by representatives of the commission, with placards bearing inscriptions like ‘Obo Effanga Must Go.’
Leader of the protest, Ms. Gulu Amakiri, while speaking, stated that the people of the state have lost confidence in Effanga, calling for his immediate transfer out of the state.
Amakiri alleged that Effanga has been compromised to deliver result of the polls in favour of candidates of the PDP in the state, stressing that women of the state have lost trust in him.
She stated that if the commission failed to transfer Effanga but goes ahead to announce the result of the polls, women, along with the support of youths would shut down the state.
Also, a former Commissioner for Women Affairs, Joeba West said the women were demanding for liberation, justice, and security, which desire they expressed through the ballot during the governorship polls, but which realization was now being threatened by the actions of INEC.
She said the women of the state insist that only seven local government results were collated and announced as at the time of suspension of the process and wondered where INEC got its acclaimed 17 LGAs’ results.
West stated that what the women want was for INEC to stick to the seven LGAs’ results, cancellation of the already compromised results and to conduct a fresh election across the affected LGAs.
Joeba West said: “INEC has said they will come and collate results but Rivers women are asking what they are collating, is it results?”
“Only seven LGAs were announced as at the time of suspending the process, how come we are hearing of 17 LGAs? These 17 LGAs are not known to women of Rivers State. Only the authentic results should be announced, a fresh election should be held for other areas.”
Responding to the women, who also went to the police headquarters, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Betty Otimeyin thanked them for their peaceful conduct during the protest, assuring them that the police will take appropriate actions where necessary to ensure their grievances were addressed.
In another counter protest same day, thousands of women, including traders took to the streets of Port Harcourt, the state capital, in a peaceful protest to declare that Effanga should not be transferred as demanded by enemies of the state.
The women, carrying placards with various inscriptions like: “Rivers women say Amaechi cannot be governor for 3rd term”, “Awara, when and where did you campaign”, “Wike must come back for second term”, “INEC collate and declare governorship election result in Rivers State”, “Enough of this long delay”, among others, trekked to the office of the DSS along Forces Avenue, Old GRA, Port Harcourt, where their leaders were addressed by the representative of the State Director of DSS.
The women, who spotted white vests, chanting ‘no Wike, no Rivers State’, defied the scorching sun and proceeded to the State Police Headquarters, where they were once again addressed by Otimeh, who stood in for the Commissioner of Police, Usman Belel, who was said to be unavoidably absent.
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, the leader of the protesting women and Rivers State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs. Ukel Oyaghiri, said they have come to express appreciation with the way the police conducted the affairs during the elections and urged them to keep up the tempo.
Mrs. Oyaghiri said Rivers women were getting agitated over the delay in announcing the results of the governorship election that was conducted since March 9, 2019.
“Rivers women have come to express our displeasure on the delay to announce the Rivers State election results. All other states have had their results announced with winners emerged and even court injunctions that had to do with stoppage of election process in every other states have been vacated.
“But in Rivers State where election took place and collation has been done, INEC has refused to announce the results, and this has put all women in suspense. As women, who have passed through thick and thin in the course of the election, we cannot keep quiet over the delay in announcing the results.
“Some of us were beaten and in resisting, some horrible things were done to us. And that is why we have come here to say, INEC please declare our results,” she said.
The commissioner stated that the delay in announcing the results has put the state in a comatose and urged the INEC Chairman, Prof. Yakubu Mahmood, to ignore calls from enemies of Rivers State for the removal of Mr. Effanga.
Earlier last week, the Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC, in the state, passed a vote of confidence on INEC and Mr. Effanga to conclude the collation of the governorship and state House of Assembly elections as fixed by the Commission.
The IPAC members, from 85 political parties had their own peaceful march in Port Harcourt, celebrating the victory of Governor Wike, ahead of the collation day.
The members, in their various placards during the march, indicated their preference for Governor Wike and the need for the collation process to be concluded as outlined in the timelines of INEC.
In his address at the peaceful march, state Chairman of IPAC, Precious Baridoo said that the political parties are calling on INEC to continue with the collation and declaration of the governorship election results.
He said: “Let the election process continue in Rivers State. We are telling INEC to follow through with the process. We condemn in totality, the calls by a few persons for the removal of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Obo Effanga. We want him to continue and conclude his job.”
In another protest, an amalgamation of civil society organizations, described as unnecessary and ill-advised the indictment of INEC and allegations of professional misconducts against the Nigerian Army, over its alleged roles during the polls in the state.
The groups, which also took their peaceful walk late last week to the 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, apologized on behalf of people of the state to the Army over the alleged unguided statements against it by some politicians in the state.
The Chancellor of International Society for Social Justice and Human Rights, ISSJHR, Dr. Jackson Omenazu who led the walk said: “We are here today to console, condole and commend the 6 Division, Nigerian Army for being professional in your conduct during the polls and for the loss of your officers.
“Without your presence and intervention, the election would have been characterized by killings, just like what we had in 2015 when the state was described as a theatre of war.
“We are standing by the General Officer Commanding the 6 Division for providing adequate security during the election in the state. This institution shouldn’t have been disparaged by desperate politicians because they provided security for the election.”