File photo of youths protesting in Rivers
BY Abdulsalam Abdullah
Protesters swooped on the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) office in Port Harcourt, the state capital, early Friday.
Chanting solidarity songs and slogans, the crowd demanded that the LGA election should proceed as scheduled.
The election is billed for October 5 across the 23 LGAs of the state.
The protesters set up canopies in the rain, sang and drummed, waved placards and banners, while closing a section of the busy road to traffic.
The demonstration came hours after Siminalayi Fubara, Rivers governor, stormed the RSIEC office in the wee hours of Friday, restating that nothing would stop the local government election from holding.
Police operatives had barricaded the facility where electoral materials are kept.
Security operatives who were at the RSIEC office departed shortly after Fubara visited the building in the company of some lawmakers and government officials.
The Rivers police command has said its officers would not provide security for the election, adding that the decision is in tandem with the order of a federal high court.
Fubara deemed the presence of police operatives at RSIEC premises provocative, alleging that Kayode Egbetokun, the inspector general of police (IGP), is taking orders from Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT).
On Thursday, a crowd besieged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secretariat in Port Harcourt over the LG poll.
The ongoing crisis in the state stems from the rift between Fubara and Wike.
The local government election is now viewed in both camps as a barometer of who wields the most influence at the grassroots.
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