The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) has declared the presidential candidates of the Action People's Party (APP) as winners of the local government elections in 22 of the 23 local government areas of the state.
The chairman of the commission, Adolfus Enebeli, a retired judge of the state, made the statement on Saturday in Port Harcourt.
The video of the statement is published on Facebook.
Enebeli said the results were still being compiled in the Etche Local Government Area.
“About 18 of the registered political parties resident in Rivers State participated in the elections.
“In accordance with current regulations, the commission showed the voter registration in the state's 6,866 electoral units.”
Enebeli said the commission stood firm and ensured that the October 5 election was sacrosanct, especially after the Supreme Court judgment in July and the judgment of Justice IPC Igwe of the Rivers State High Court.
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“It is heartening that I stand before you today to affirm the smooth, free, fair, credible and transparent, comprehensive, successful, violence-free and highly appreciated holding of the Rivers State local government elections despite all odds.”
He described the compilation of results as “meticulous.”
The video does not show the commission declaring the results of the council election.
Background
Local elections were held in the state despite police withdrawal of security for the exercise.
The police said they acted on an order from the Federal High Court, but the RSIEC chairman said the commission was prompted by the judgment of the Supreme Court and that of the IPC Igwe of the Rivers State High Court, a statement that highlights how contradictory judicial pronouncements contribute to the raging political situation. crisis in the oil-rich state.
The People's Democratic Party (PDP), of which Siminalayi Fubara was elected governor, boycotted the elections, forcing Fubara loyalists to look for an alternative in a relatively unknown APP, whose candidates eventually won all 22 presidential seats declared so far.
Rivers State has witnessed political turmoil after Fubara parted ways with his former “political godfather”, Nyesom Wike, who helped him become governor.
Wike, a PDP member and FCT minister in the APC-led federal government, has refused to hand over the PDP political structure in the state to Mr Fubara, apparently the cause of their political split.
Wike tried unsuccessfully to stop the elections, even mobilizing his followers to protest against the exercise.