Rita Odafe
On Saturday, October 5, local government elections in Rivers State were interrupted when police reportedly deployed teargas at Elekahia Primary School polling stations.
Witnesses reported the arrival of around 20 fully armed patrol vans. Officers discharged teargas into the area while voting was ongoing.
Prior to this incident, the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) had started distributing essential materials to various local government areas for the elections.
Voting kicked off early Saturday morning in multiple LGAs, with some voters successfully casting their ballots while others waited for election supplies to arrive.
Just hours before the election, an explosion was reported at the All Progressives Congress (APC) secretariat, associated with Tony Okocha, former chair of the APC caretaker committee in the state.
The political atmosphere in Rivers has been tense, largely due to ongoing conflicts between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
A recent court ruling revealed that on September 30, a Federal High Court in Abuja prohibited the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from providing the RSIEC with the 2023 voter register. The ruling also prevented the Inspector-General of Police and the Department of State Services (DSS) from providing law enforcement for the election. As of October 2, INEC confirmed that the voter register had not been released to RSIEC in adherence to this ruling.
On October 3, demonstrators gathered at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) office in Port Harcourt to voice opposition against the local government elections. Nonetheless, Governor Fubara emphasized his determination to carry out the election.
The day before, Fubara visited the RSIEC office in Port Harcourt amid rumors that police intended to disrupt the election process. Reports indicated that law enforcement had cordoned off the area where electoral materials were kept.
Fubara claimed the police presence was unwarranted, suggesting that the Inspector-General of Police was acting on Wike’s instructions to interfere with the electoral process. In reaction, the Nigeria Police Force defended their operations, stating they were following the Federal High Court’s decisions.
