There is growing tension about lives and property in Port Harcourt and other parts of Rivers State over the state government’s move to conduct elections in the local government council on Saturday, 5 October.
The two major political parties – the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and the All Progressive Party, APC, – took to the streets on Thursday morning to protest the election, which Governor Siminilayi Fubara vowed would go ahead, despite many court injunctions for and against it.
Protesters defied the early morning rain in Port Harcourt and hit the streets to register their objections to the planned election.
Protesters were seen at the PDP secretariat on Aba road and other parts of the state, with protesters threatening to march on the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission’s office.
The protesters trooped to the streets to demand the suspension of the election, despite Fubara declaring Thursday and Friday public holidays in the state preparatory to the election.
Fubara warned that the “issue of the court cases here and there, I can tell you, it is not an issue to stop the election. There is a substantive judgment giving the RSIEC all powers to ensure that the election holds. And we are standing by that judgment to support RSIEC for the election.”
NDN checks revealed that the governor’s loyalists have all moved to the All Peoples Party, APP, to contest the election, after he lost control of the structure of his political party (PDP) to the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike.
Meanwhile, threats of violence have pervaded the state amidst concerns that the various factions of the parties in the state could use the election to unleash mayhems on their real and perceived enemies.
There are unconfirmed reports of bloodbaths and destruction of property in various parts of the state, including communities in Andoni LGA.
