If early results are anything to go by, it can be deducted that Rivers people may largely ignore the directive of Governor Nyesom Wike.
Although Wike is a serving Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor, he had reportedly directed that the people should vote vote Bola Ahmed Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
However, there are indications that this directives would be largely ignored by the people, going by the results from Port Harcourt (Phalga and Obio/Akpor).
The early results showed huge voting for Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP).
In Rumuodara Unit 25 in Obio/Akpor, for instance LP 236, ZLP 1, APC 3, PDP 2, and Invalid Vote 1. Uzoigwe Primary School Ward 9 unit 6: LP 253, PDP 8, APC 4.
The pattern continued across the state capital before thugs started going round to force INEC officials to stop counting or continuing voting in areas that started late but the crowd refused.
When this did not work, the thugs insisted that results should not be entered until they reached the RAC centres.
In Elelenwo Ward 3B Unit 9 (Rumuodani), which has huge population, the thugs tried to stop counting. When the voters resisted them, they called for more thugs who came and started a fight by 8.30pm. They forced the INEC officials to carry the ballot boxes to ‘RAC’.
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By that time, the unit had announced the results with LP having 399, APC 9, PDP 14. This was the pattern in most units of the city that had been announced.
The snag however, was the refusal of Polling Unit officials to upload the results right there, as the guidelines stipulated.
There were fights in some units in the state capital over this disagreement.
The party agents all have the results and the voters have been warning against tampering with what they already know and have.