Voting begins in Rivers LG polls without police security

Voting has commenced in the local government elections in Rivers state.

Voters have started casting their votes in some polling units in the state while in some other units, voters are waiting for the arrival of election materials.

Earlier, the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) commenced distribution of sensitive materials to LGAs for the conduct of the election.

The Rivers LGA election is taking place despite the court order restraining the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and other security agencies from providing security during the poll.

On September 30, a federal high court in Abuja barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing the 2023 voter register to RSIEC.

The court also barred the inspector-general of police and the Department of State Services (DSS) from providing security for the exercise.

On October 2, INEC said it had not released the voter register to RSIEC for the conduct of the election, in compliance with the verdict of the federal high court.

However, RSIEC said it had received a copy of the voter register from INEC since last year.

Amid the controversy, Siminalayi Fubara, the governor, insisted that RSIEC will conduct the LGA election and that the court order did not stop the conduct of the election.

In the early hours of Friday, Fubara arrived at RSIEC office in Port Harcourt, the state capital, over claim that police officers wanted to stop the election.

Police operatives had barricaded the facility where electoral materials are kept.

Fubara said the presence of police officers at the RSIEC premises was unnecessary, accusing the IGP of taking orders from Nyesom Wike, FCT minister, to truncate the election.

Reacting to Fubara’s comments, the NPF said its actions in Rivers conformed with the judgment of the federal high court.

The LGA election is being viewed in camps of Wike and Fubara as a referendum on who really controls the grassroots.

The Wike camp is seemingly opposed to the conduct of the election.