INEC fixes April 13 to conclude Rivers’ elections

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled the supplementary governorship election in Rivers state for April 13.

Festus Okoye, INEC commissioner for information and voter education, announced this at a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday.

Okoye said that the announcement of results will be done on April 15, while issuance of certificate of return will be on April 19.

The INEC commissioner also disclosed that the commission will organise an inter-agency meeting between with “relevant agencies” on March 29.

He added that revalidation of observers will be done simultaneously in Abuja and Rivers between March 25 and March 31 and that collation of results will resume in the state between April 2 and April 5.

On March 10, INEC suspended all electoral processes in the state as a result of violence and widespread disruption of collation of results.

The commission later blamed the military for its involvement in the exercise.

INEC had earlier announced that the results of 17 local government areas were intact.

Although there are many candidates in the election, the contest is between Nyesom Wike, incumbent governor and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Awara Biokpomabo, candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC).

The AAC candidate is being backed by Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation. On the eve of the March 9 gubernatorial election, Amaechi directed his supporters to vote for Biokpomabo.

AAC had lost out in its bid to get an injunction to stop INEC from continuing with the election.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) could not field candidates in the general election as a result of internal crisis.