Tensions surrounding the Rivers State Local Government elections escalated as the Peoples Democratic Party and All Progressives Congress cautioned against declaring results.
The warnings came amid concerns of violence and disregard for court judgments.
The Rivers PDP chairman, Aaron Chukwuemeka, emphasized the importance of obeying court judgments during a press briefing on Saturday.
He said, “We can’t support or promote lawlessness or impunity in any form whatsoever, even though we are the ruling party in Rivers state.
“The proper court judgments must be obeyed as we cannot choose or pick which order of court to obey or not to obey.”
Chukwuemeka further warned, “We want to caution that any attempt to announce any result whatsoever will be an invitation to violence and will be properly resisted as no election held in the Rivers state on the 5th of October 2024 as ordered by the courts.”
The APC chairman in the south-south, Victor Giadom, explained the party’s decision to boycott the election due to discrepancies with existing laws.
“The entire process of the local government election in Rivers state is in conflict with the laws of the land — If the process is done according to law, my party will participate in the election,” he said.
The ex-chairman of the APC caretaker committee in Rivers, Tony Okocha, also cautioned against declaring “fictitious” results, which would ignite unrest.
“We are amused that even after the receipt of the judgment, Governor Siminalayi Fubara broke into the gates of RSIEC and chased away police officers deployed in RSIEC to ensure compliance of the judgment,” Okocha said.
He added, “We caution against any announcement or any attempt to announce fictitious individuals as elected chairmen in the local government area. Doing so is a clear-cut recipe for chaos and unrest. The governor’s attempts to enthrone his proteges into the councils will not work.”
The tensions in Rivers State stem from the ongoing conflict between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
On September 4, a high court in the state held that Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission could conduct the LGA elections using the 2023 voter register.
However, on September 30, a federal high court in Abuja barred the Independent National Electoral Commission from releasing the voter register to RSIEC.
The court also barred the inspector-general of police and the Department of State Services from providing security for the exercise.
On October 2, INEC said it had not released the voter register in deference to the judgment of the federal high court. A day later, a crowd besieged the PDP secretariat in Port Harcourt, protesting against the planned election. Despite this, Fubara vowed to proceed with the election.
On Friday, Fubara visited the RSIEC office in Port Harcourt, claiming police officers were planning to stop the election. Police operatives had barricaded the facility where electoral materials are kept. Fubara accused the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, of taking orders from Wike to truncate the election.
Reacting to Fubara’s comments, the Nigeria Police Force said its actions conformed with the judgment of the federal high court.
The LGA elections took place in parts of the state on Saturday despite the pull-out of security operatives. However, the outcome remains uncertain amid the controversy and warnings from the PDP and APC.