Suspended polls: Anxiety heightens as INEC holds back on Rivers state election

The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC has said it would conduct supplementary elections on March 23 in states where the exercise was put on hold due to violence or other reasons. 

The decision was a fall out of the commission’s meeting, yesterday in Abuja. INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye in a late Tuesday statement said the Commission met and reviewed the conduct of the 29 Governorship and 991 State constituency elections held on March 9, 2019. 

In all, the commission had declared winners in the Governorship elections in 22 states. ‘However, the Returning officers in Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Kano, Plateau and Sokoto states declared the governorship elections inconclusive. Consequently, the Commission will conduct supplementary elections on Saturday 23rd March 2019 to conclude the process. Supplementary elections will also hold in polling units in all states where State assembly elections were declared inconclusive and winners could not be declared. 

Details of the constituencies including number of polling units and registered voters, will be published on our website tomorrow Wednesday 13th March 2019,” he declared. Okoye said the elections were declared inconclusive for a combination of reasons, mainly the discontinuation of use of the Smart Card Readers midway into the elections or the failure to deploy them, over-voting and widespread disruption in many polling units. “In compliance with the Margin of Lead Principle derived from Sections 26 and 53 ofthe Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and paragraph 41(e) and 43(b) of the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the conduct of elections, the outcome of these elections could not be determined without conducting polls in the affected polling units. 

Hence the Commission’s decision to conduct supplementary elections in line with this principle. “Furthermore, the Commission has considered a Report submitted by the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Bauchi State on the disruption of the collation at the Tafawa Balewa LGA collation centre, which led to the cancellation of results for the entire local government. The Commission found that there are issues that need further investigation and has set up a team led by a National Commissioner to resolve them”, he added. This came as the polity was awash with flak for the electoral commission, yesterday, as it failed to give its position on the suspended Governorship and State House of Assembly elections in Rivers State and its declaration of the polls as inconclusive in six states. While suspending all electoral processes in Rivers on Sunday on account of widespread disruption of elections conducted on March 9, the electoral umpire raised a probe committee it asked to probe the incidents and submit its report in 48 hours. The deadline ended, yesterday. 

However, the INEC would make a proclamation on the Rivers election before Friday, Vanguard has learned. Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, chief press secretary to the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, said the committee was still in Rivers state as of 4pm, yesterday, adding that its report was expected to be submitted to the commission on or before Wednesday (today). Vanguard gathered that the commission would consequently meet on the report and take a decision as to whether to conduct fresh polls in affected areas or collate results in areas where there was no violence.   Indeed, mixed reactions greeted the INEC’s declaration of the governorship elections inconclusive in six states and its delay in addressing the Rivers suspended polls. The All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, bickered over the issues yesterday. 

Rivers APC, PDP bicker over suspended elections The APC and PDP in Rivers intensified their accusations and counter-accusations over the suspended polls in the state. Rivers APC in a statement by its Spokesman, Chris Finebone stated that despite not fielding candidates, it was actively involved in the governorship and state assembly elections as it endorsed the candidate of another party. “Rivers APC was an active stakeholder in last weekend’s elections and the reason is that we formally endorsed and adopted the AAC governorship candidate, Awara Biokpomabo. 

We must establish our disapproval of the tendencies by a section of stakeholders in the polity, especially some supposed local and international observers who appear not to appreciate the onerous task security agencies are undertaking to ensure that Rivers people were able to come out and vote safely and their vote counted. “We call on the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu to redeploy Mr. Effanga from Rivers without further delay to avoid possible crisis that may follow the organised conspiracy being instigated by altering result of the 2019 governorship polls in Rivers State.” The PDP, in its own statement by Jerry Needam, Media Aide to Rivers PDP Chairman, Felix Obuah, commended Gov. 

Nyesom Wike for the peaceful disposition displayed to ensure that the state remains calm and peaceful. “We urge and believe the INEC and the fact-finding committee will remain firm on what is right and save Rivers from the turmoil being orchestrated by one man’s inordinate ambition to continue to rule the state through proxy.” 

Release result of gov poll, Rivers women Also, Concerned Women and Youths of Rivers State, urged the INEC to release the result of the governorship election, adding that continued delay in declaration of the winner of the election was dangerous to the security of the state. Briefing newsmen in Port Harcourt, the spokes person of the group, Akaeolo Wealth, particularly expressed concern over the women, men and Youths who were murdered. Wealth said the women and youths are tired of insecurity in Rivers State, and condemned the recent murder of security operatives including Nigeria Soldiers who were killed in Akuku Toru Local Government by armed thugs. Obi expresses concern, urges international community’s intervention. 

Also, Vice Presidential candidate of the PDP, Mr. Peter Obi expressed concern on the outcome of the governorship elections, particularly in Rivers State. Obi, in a statement from his media office, yesterday, said the militarization of election which culminated in the relocation of a collation centre to a military base in addition to denying international observers access to the centre, were clearly unacceptable and amounts a grave breach of democratic norms. The Vice Presidential candidate noted that the “needless involvement of the military has aggravated the situation in Rivers state” wondering the state has become of huge interest. He flayed the what he called the harassment of the state governor, Nyesom Wike, saying his stewardship in the past four years rightly earned him the nickname, “Mr. Project” from an opposition figure. 

INEC must stop declaring elections inconclusive for eventual rigging – NIM In like manner, the Nigeria Intervention Movement, NIM, asked the INEC to ‘’desist from the antics of declaring elections almost won inconclusive to enable its ‘favoured’ political parties to put machinery in place for eventual rigging of the elections as cleverly invented during the Osun state gubernatorial elections last year.’’