Rivers State Governor, Siminialayi Joseph Fubara, don dey criticize di Inspector General of Police and Governor Nyesom Wike over di presence of police officers at di Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) office. Dis incident happen on Friday, October 4, 2024, just one day before di scheduled local government elections.
According to Governor Fubara, di police officers were trying to seize control of di RSIEC office, which he described as a deliberate attempt to disrupt di electoral process. He expressed surprise at di actions of di police, especially since di court order only prohibited di police from providing security for di elections, not from allowing di elections to take place[4).
Di local government elections in Rivers State were set to hold on Saturday, October 5, 2024, across 23 local government areas and 6,366 polling stations. Despite di challenges, RSIEC insisted that di elections would go ahead as scheduled. Di commission emphasized that di elections are critical and in line with di Supreme Court‘s order for democratically elected local councils across all states[4).
Di situation was further complicated by a Federal High Court ruling that barred INEC from releasing di certified voters register to RSIEC until all legal requirements were met. However, RSIEC maintained that di updated 2023 voter registers were available at all polling units and that di election materials had been distributed[4).
Local youths also protested outside di RSIEC office, blocking di Port Harcourt-Aba expressway to safeguard di commission from potential disruptions. Additionally, there was an attack on di APC state secretariat in Port Harcourt by unidentified armed individuals, though no casualties were reported[3).
