Rivers, Benue, A/Ibom, Jigawa hold LG polls today

There is anxiety in the polity as four states hold local government elections today. This is sequel to the issues, twists and turns ahead of the elections. 

Eligible voters in Rivers, Benue, Akwa Ibom and Jigawa states will again have the opportunity to vote their preferred candidates to fill the chairmanship and councillorship seats. There are fears that the ruling parties in the four states will still sweep all the seats despite the autonomy granted to the local government areas. 

Political analysts have predicted that the elections would not be different from the previous exercises where state governors, to a large extent, determined winners. 

Some Nigerians have expressed concerns that the election will go the way of those recently held in Kwara, Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto and Anambra states, where the ruling parties in the states won all the seats.

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Apart from the issue of ruling party taking it all, others include intra-party crisis, moves by some political parties to either boycott or stop the election from holding in their states, and court orders stopping elections etc. 

Rivers 

Weekend Trust reports that the situation in Rivers is dicey considering the twists and turns in the polity ahead of today’s election.

Pundits have predicted that if the election holds today, the Action People’s Party (APP) could win all the seats. This followed the defection of Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s men to the party ahead of the poll and the crises in the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

It would be recalled that some local government caretaker committee chairmen loyal to Fubara recently defected to the APP.  It was also gathered that another faction of the PDP loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike had withdrawn from the election. A faction of the APC led by Emeka Beke, loyal to a former governor of the state, Rotimi Amaechi, had, however, announced its readiness to participate in the election today.

However, the Chief Tony Okocha-led faction, which is loyal to the immediate past governor of the state, Nyesom Wike and recognised by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC, has announced plans to boycott the election.

Analysts have predicted that Governor Fubara would likely pitch tent with the APP in due course, especially considering the existing rift with his predecessor, Wike. Fubara and Wike have been at loggerheads over the control of politics and governance in the state. 

However, the governor had dispelled the defection plan when he hosted the leadership of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) led by Senator Adolphus Wabara at the Government House in Port Harcourt recently.

In the build-up to today’s election in Rivers State, there have been several activities and intrigues, some of them dramatic. 

Weekend Trust reports that despite the political intrigues, Governor Fubara yesterday announced that the election must hold, adding that the Inspector General of Police would be held responsible for any breakdown of security in the state. He said this shortly after inspecting the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) office.

The Nigeria Police Force pledged to uphold the Federal High Court’s ruling that “bars” the conduct of the local government election scheduled for today.

The public relations officer of the command, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, said it was aware of the September 30 judgement of the court stopping the poll.

But Governor Fubara, in the wee hours of Friday, led a delegation to the RSIEC office in Port Harcourt following an alleged attempt by the police to break into the facility to cart away materials meant for today’s election. Policemen allegedly deployed from the neighbouring Abia State, were said to have stormed the area to carry out the mission foiled by Fubara and his men.

On Thursday, the PDP announced that it would not participate in the election, and called for its suspension due to conflicting court orders. The state chairman of the party, Aaron Chukwuemeka, who led protesters to the police headquarters and the office of the State Security Service (SSS), pleaded with the commissioner of police, Olatunji Disu, to suspend the poll due to available court orders.

Benue 

The main opposition party in Benue State, the PDP and the ruling APC are going into the election with a baggage of crises as there are two warring factions reportedly led by former governors Gabriel Suswam and Samuel Ortom, who are bent on controlling the structure.

There was tension yesterday morning when the newly inaugurated State Working Committee (SWC) of the PDP was locked out of the party’s state secretariat in Makurdi. 

The SWC, allegedly backed by Ortom, had arrived to collect handover notes from the outgoing caretaker committee, only to find the building under lock and key.

Efforts to contact key party officials were unsuccessful, adding to the confusion. This incident followed a string of allegations concerning the party’s congresses.

A faction of the PDP had on Wednesday accused the NWC, led by Amb Iliya Umar Damagum of manipulating ward and local government congresses, leading to legal issues.  

Party elders allegedly loyal to Suswam, led by Terngu Tsegba, however, called for intervention to restore order.

The faction claimed that several local government areas, including Gboko and Guma, reportedly did not hold congresses, while others “saw their results hijacked.” They argued that crisis escalated when a court order was issued to halt the congresses in some areas, but the NWC allegedly ignored the injunction.

In the APC, some members are still loyal to Governor Hyacinth Alia, while others are loyal to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, despite the existence of a caretaker committee set up by the NWC, which comprises members of each faction. 

The Akume-led faction is said to have refused to align with the APC seven-member committee headed by Benjamin Omale as chairman in the state.

Akwa Ibom

In Akwa Ibom State, the APC and other opposition parties have not shown determination to win the election as analysts say “they have been sleeping.”

Despite the fact that Senate President Godswill Akpabio is from the state, political pundits said winning the election would be a herculean task for the APC due to its intra-party crisis. However, the chairman of the APC Local Government Election Campaign Council, Senator Ita Enang, said the party was fully prepared and committed to win the poll. 

Although Governor Umo Eno said there would be a level playing field for all the parties, the APC leadership said it had lost confidence in the chairman of the state electoral body, Aniediabasi Ikoiwak.

Jigawa 

In Jigawa State, the police command has imposed restrictions on all forms of vehicular movement from 12am on Saturday, October 5, 2024 to 6pm on Saturday, except for those on essential services or duties.

This was contained in a statement by the command’s public relations officer, DSP Lawan Shiisu Adam.

“The political parties and their followers intending to use weapons are advised to refrain from such and strictly adhere to and abide by the rules and regulations governing the electoral process,” the police warned. 

Ruling parties’ winning streak worrisome – Analyst 

Reacting to the development in a telephone interview with Weekend Trust, Chief Jackson Lekan Ojo, a political analyst, said the elections would be “charades as usual.”

He said it was worrisome that governors and the ruling parties always hijacked the electoral process at the local level. 

“A situation where state governors and their cronies sit in their comfort zones and write local government election results to favour themselves is worrisome and condemnable.  

“It is time we challenged the situation for better,” he said. 

Ojo asked the National Assembly to enact a law mandating the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct local government elections in the country.