The 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has warned thugs and troublemakers to steer clear of Etche and Omuma Local Government Areas during the rerun election, today. It also assured of peaceful elections in the two LGAs, while urging leaders of political parties fielding candidates in the polls to call their supporters to order, thereby refusing involvement in violence and thuggery.
The 6 division, through its Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Aminu Iliyasu, in an interview yesterday in Port Harcourt, disclosed that enough soldiers were on Thursday deployed in Etche and Omuma LGAs to give the necessary support to the police and other security agencies, declaring that the Nigerian army was very prepared for the elections. Acting Rivers Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Magaji, who is the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in charge of Operations, promised adequate security during today’s polls, to ensure free, fair and credible rerun.
The leaders of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state and the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) also disagreed on plot to rig the polls. The PDP, through its Publicity Secretary, Samuel Nwanosike, accused the members and leaders of the APC of conniving with security agencies and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to massively rig the crucial elections.
The Publicity Secretary of the APC in Rivers, Chris Finebone, yesterday evening in Port Harcourt, however, declared that Governor Nyesom Wike, his allies and members of the PDP had perfected plans to rig the elections again through violence, thuggery and bribery, while urging security agents to be vigilant and avoid double standard. Finebone stressed that candidates of APC for the elections and members of the party in Etche and Omuma LGAs vigorously campaigned, which he said would make them to record landslide victories, provided the polls were free, fair and devoid of violence/ thuggery.
The rerun in over 200 voting units across 8 registration areas will be for House of Representatives’ Etche/Omuma federal constituency, which will hold in 147 units in Etche LGA & one unit in Omuma LGA, while election for Rivers House of Assembly’s Etche constituency 2 will hold in 74 units.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of INEC in Rivers state, Aniedi Ikoiwak, stated that the polls would hold in areas where access to polling units were blocked by suspected thugs during the December 10 last year’s rerun, where election materials got to, but for violence and disruption, elections were not collated and results not declared at the appropriate venue and where elections were held, but the results were rejected and cancelled by the Electoral Officers at the ward level, because of certain malpractices.
Ikoiwak noted that with all the adequate arrangements made by INEC and assurances given by security agencies, he expressed optimism that the elections would be free, fair and credible. APC’s Ogbonna Nwuke is for Etche/Omuma federal constituency in the House of Representatives, while Golden Chioma is the main opposition party’s candidate for Rivers House of Assembly’s Etche constituency 2. PDP’s Chief Jerome Eke is for House of Representatives, while Mr. Tony Ejiogu is the ruling party’s candidate for Etche constituency 2 in the House of Assembly.
INEC’s National Commissioner supervising Rivers, Edo and Bayelsa states, May Agbamuche-Mbu, had earlier revealed that over 700 staff of the commission, within and outside Rivers state, would be deployed for the elections. It will be recalled that the Rivers Coordinator of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Mr. Omotayo Adewoye, stated that the 300 invited youth corps members would not be participating in today’s elections, to avoid being killed, since a youth corps member was earlier killed by hoodlums during previous rerun in the state.
