Since 2003, elections have never been peaceful in the oil-rich Rivers State. MUYIWA OYINLOLA in this report examines the politics that led to the suspension of the collation of result of the yet to be concluded governorship election in the state
Since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced Tuesday, April 2 for the completion of the collation of the result of the governorship poll in the oil rich River state, the political parties in the state have not stopped attacking each other over the earlier suspension of the result.
Immediately the commission announced its decision to resume the collation, some political parties, particularly the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state received the news with joy and optimism, while the African Action Alliance (AAA), which enjoys the backing of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that is not participating in the election expressed reservations.
This however, is not new to political watchers, both in the state and the country at large.
Since the return of the country to democracy, elections have never been peaceful in the state.
Whenever elections are coming in the state, the people of the state are usually enveloped by fear, given the about the crises that usually mar the exercise in the oil-rich state, as the state is known for blood birth whenever election is approaching. Hence, people gave the state the acronym of ‘Rivers of blood.’
No doubt about the fact that the defection of the Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi’s camp to the APC in 2015 further aggravates the crisis that always characterises elections in the state.
Recall that the 2015 general elections was much much bloody in the history of the election violence in the state due to the battle of supremacy that followed the defection of Amaechi and his supporters from PDP to the APC.
When the 2019 polls wwre approaching, fears gripped the residents of the state that history was about to repeat itself. But as fate would have it, the major opposition party in the state, APC, was unable to field a candidate for the election due to protracted crisis in the party.
Instead of boycotting the election, the APC led by Rotimi Amechi threw its weight behind AAC, a decision that further heat up the electioneering process in the state.
Although elections were held across the state, crisis erupted during collation. This led to the suspension of further collation of the results by the electoral umpire. The development sent panic to the camps of PDP, APC and the newly introduced party, AAC.
A few days latter, the commission turned around to inform the public and other stakeholders in the state that it would resume collation of results on April 2, adding that it will last till April 5.
INEC hinged the reasons for the collation of resumption on the report of its fact finding committee which had reported that the polls have been concluded in 21 state constituencies.
They further stated that for the governorship election, results had been collated in 17 of 23 constituencies without mentioning the said constituencies.
Commenting on the development, APC Publicity Secretary in the state, Chris Finebone, said four INEC officials who were alleged to be PDP card-carrying members were declared unfit to resume collation, but the identity of the officials and the affected local governments were kept secret.
Besides, Finebone wondered why the collation that had been done were acceptable by the commission. The party’s spokesperson also alleged that Governor Nyesom Wike had violated the collation process by allegedly invading the collation centre at his native Obio/Akpor Council headquarters, Rumuodaya, Port-Harcourt with security agents.
“INEC is up to some mischief, clearly pointing to a clear determination to rig the overall results of the March 9 elections”, he said.
Not minding the statement of the opposition, the chairman of the PDP in the state, Felix Obuah, hurriedly welcomed the resumed collation with optimism, saying that PDP would win the election.
LEADERSHIP noted that four years after, there is a reversal of roles. The APC now controls the Federal Government and the PDP is in opposition. The military is involved in Rivers elections, but as a repelling force against the activities of armed thugs, to create an enabling environment for voters to vote.
No fewer than four military personnel were shot dead. Two are lying in critical conditions. In Abonnema, Khana, Obio Akpor, thugs were on the prowl.
According to observers, voter turn out increased significantly, compared to 2015 as the military presence provided adequate security and assurance for voters to come out and vote. The recorded votes, though much lower than the results of 2015 reflects the true will of the people. The ghost votes accepted by INEC in 2015, when thugs were used to scare voters away, hijacked election materials, constituted a rape of democracy.
In many local government areas, the military adequately contained the attempts by the thugs to hijack election materials.
Meanwhile, APC has raised some posers concerning the election. Since INEC’s reason for suspending the elections were hinges on widespread violence and disruption of the process in 23 councils, the party wondered if it is possible in such a situation for the same INEC to turn around and claim to mysteriously have in its custody the results for 17 of 23 LGAs, as announced, following the arrival of the INEC fact finding team.
The party wonders how the electoral process could overcome the purported massive violence and disruption to produce over 70 per cent results from the field, wondering it the claim of violence is false or the claim of concluded election in 17 wards is false.
It further alleged that in at least 15 of the 23 councils, many adhoc staff, especially the Collation and Returning Officers, have been identified as card-carrying members of the PDP, who also ran for primaries, only a few months back on the PDP platform.
Also among its questions begging for answers is why some PDP chieftains published in their twitter handles the story of concluded elections in 17 LGAs before INEC went public with the incredulous claim.
It also asked why INEC refused to mention in any of its statements or reports the grievous incident of a serving governor who is on the ballot storming the collation center for his local government.
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In the same vein, it asked if INEC Headquarters really believes that the Rivers State INEC officials who stampeded them into suspending a smooth running election with the alarm has the integrity to keep in custody election returns from LGAs for close to two weeks without tampering or contaminating the results.
However, INEC is yet to acknowledge that, by the time the strange suspension order was released, only election results in seven LGAs viz Asari-Toru, Akuku-Toru, Ahoada-West, Eleme, Oyigbo, Ikwerre and Phalga, had been announced at the LGA collation centers.
There were also reports of election cancellations in Abua/Odual and Tai. More disturbing is the fact that the commission has also refused to release the list of the 17 LGAs, whose results, it was gathered mysteriously found their way in spite of the widespread violence to their secure custody.
According to the APC, the idea of a statewide blanket suspension of a smooth election, based on a spurious allegation of widespread violence, undercored a tendency towards fraud.
During the presidential election of February 23, despite recording more cases of violence and deaths in isolated areas, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Effanga, did not suspend the elections.
However, during the last by-election into the House of Assembly for Port-Harcourt 111 Constituency, the poll was suspended when the APC candidate appeared to be leading. Up to now, the constituency has no representative in the state legislature.
To the APC, what is puzzling is that polls were suspended in an election characterised by high voters’ turn out, lack of ballot snatching and lowest cases of casualties.
All these were due to the adequate deployment of military personnel, who placed their lives on the line in the discharge of their duties.
Finebone said: “The way out is for the INEC to strive to pass the integrity test, re-conduct elections in affected areas and show greater commitment to the sanctity of the ballot box”.
However, it was observed that in 2015, when PDP was the ruling party at the center and the APC was in the opposition, military was heavily used to forestall crises in elections that took place in Ekiti and Rivers.
Political watchers observed further that in spite of their huge involvement, no military officials was shot dead by armed thugs because the APC, unlike the then ruling PDP, did not recruit and arm youths with lethal weapons during the elections to shoot at sight anyone who tried to stop them from snatching election materials .
Armed militants allegedly recruited by PDP, were said to have openly enjoyed the protection of the police and military then. It was also gathered that those hoodlums terrorised and chased away both opponents and voters into hiding, hijack sensitive election materials, wrote ghost votes for themselves and got INEC to declare PDP winner.
According to pundits, those involved then, including the former Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Gesila Khan and her team were swimming in the pool of controversy.
Pundits further alleged that INEC colluded with the PDP to announce false results with impunity. Some police officers and EOs are still being investigated, following their roles in the exercise
But in 2019, exactly four years after, the table turned as APC now controls the Federal Government and the PDP is in opposition. The military is involved in Rivers elections, but as a repelling force against the activities of armed thugs, to create an enabling environment for voters to vote.
It was gathered that about four military personnel were shot dead, while others are lying in critical conditions. Also, thugs were said to be on the prowl in Abonnema, Khana and Obio Akpor local governments .
However, voter turn out increased significantly, compared to 2015 as the military presence provided adequate security and assurance for voters to come out and vote, according to observers.
It was also gathered that the recorded votes, though much lower than criminally fabricated results of 2015 reflect the true will of the people. Pundits averred that ghost votes allegedly accepted by INEC in 2015, when thugs were used to scare voters away, hijack election materials and generate fabricated results constituted a rape of democracy.
It was gathered that unlike 2015, military personnel adequately contained the attempts by the thugs to hijack election materials in many local governments.
According to a poser raised by the APC, as it stands now, since INEC’s reason for suspending the coalition at initial stage were widespread violence and disruption of the process in 23 councils, one wonders if it is possible in such a situation for the same INEC to turn around and claim to mysteriously have in its custody the results for 17 of 23 LGAs, as announced, following the arrival of the INEC fact finding team.
Meanwhile, the PDP yesterday alleged that the minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami SAN, is being drafted into plots to scuttle the collation of the results of Rivers State governorship election by the INEC.
The PDP in a statement by the national publicity secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, cautioned the Malami to restrain himself from “being used to commit unconstitutional acts in the collation of results already scheduled to begin in the state on Tuesday.”
But the PDP yesterday said that the “Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has been boastfully claiming that the AGF was working on a script whereupon he will write to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to direct him to stop the collation of results.
“Our party urges the AGF to note that there is no provision of the 1999 Constitution (as Amended) or any part of the Electoral Act 2010 (as Amended) that, in anyway, empowers the AGF to interfere or stop the process of election, until declaration of result is made.
“It is imperative for the AGF to note that Rotimi Amaechi, in his desperation, will want to rope him in and use him to cause a constitutional crisis that has the capacity to derail our democracy.
“The constitution and laws of our nation are clear on the powers and statutory functions of the Attorney General and that he has no powers to interfere in the conduct of elections or direct the stoppage of an electoral process.
“The AGF should therefore distance himself from the ignoble scheme by Rotimi Amaechi to cause trouble in Rivers state by attempting to scuttle the collation of results in the Rivers governorship election, which has been clearly won by the PDP and Governor Nyesom Wike,” the statement stressed.
The PDP also charged INEC to assert it’s independence in concluding the collation process in order to save the nation a serious crisis. The party also charged the party to respect the will of the people, as expressed at the polls on March 9, by declaring Governor Nyesom Wike as rightful winner of the election without further delay.
