The political atmosphere in Rivers state is buzzing as the March 19 legislative rerun elections gain momentum. The election will see key political figures in the state slog it out for a place at the National Assembly and state House of Representatives. However with the heated confrontations, power tussles and cacophony, already being experienced in the build-up to the election, the struggle for the existing political space and power in Rivers state is quite disturbing. Reports making round show that the political arena in the state is thickening with hate and indifference. There are also fears that the chaotic scenes in the governorship election look more certain to re-occur in the upcoming legislative election, if the situation is not properly managed. Naij.com takes a critical look at events that have unfolded in the build-up to the March 19 election and the before/aftermath of the March 28, 29 presidential and National Assembly election and April 15, 2015 governorship election in Rivers state. The Origin The elections witnessed on March 28, 29 and April 11, 2015 will go down in the history of the country as one of the biggest ever. For the first time in a long while, Nigerians witnessed peaceful elections in most parts of the nation. However, with a whopping population of over 140 million people, it is almost impossible to eliminate violence completely. This was evident in the proportion of chaos that was witnessed in Rivers state. It was reported that scores of members and supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers state were killed and many left injured, as elections in the state were on-going. Ex-governor Rotimi Amaechi had ordered the suspension of accreditation of voters in Ikwerre local government area in the state, following the non-availability of result sheets and a reported attack on security agents and corps members. According to Amaechi, the current minister of Transport, all sensitive and non-sensitive materials were on ground in his polling unit. However, because of the fact that one of the key sensitive materials was missing (the result sheets), the situation on the ground became a big source of worry to him. Hours afterwards he made a statement alleging that all the election equipment and materials, especially result sheets, were largely possessed by the PDP agents. Amaechi accused the electoral commissioner in charge of the Rivers state of deliberately truncating the electoral process in the state so as to favour the incumbent governor Nyesom Wike. As such, Governor Ameachi called for the immediate cancellation of the polls conducted in the state. The governor and other APC supporters besieged the Rivers INEC office to demand for election cancellation. This declaration by the governor sparked a gunfight, and it was reported that scores lost their lives in subsequent clashes. However, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers state, Chief Ezebunwo Nyesom Wike, as the winner of the April 11, 2015 governorship elections in the state. Announcing the election results in the wee hours of Monday, April 13, at the INEC office in Port Harcourt, Professor Faraday Osasere Oruwese, the returning officer for the state and Vice Chancellor of University of Benin, said Wike garnered 1,029,102 votes representing 87.77% to emerge as winner. According to the result, Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the state, came second with 124,896, while candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Prince Tonye Princewill, came third with 10,142. The results however prompted the APC and its candidate Dakuku to seek redress at the tribunal and victory emerged for the party at both the tribunal and Court of Appeal. But with the Supreme Court verdict on Wednesday, January 27, which upheld the mandate of Governor Wike, the result of the April 11 poll by INEC validated. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter The political atmosphere in Rivers state is buzzing as the March 19 legislative rerun elections gain momentum. Scores have been reported dead Nine feared dead as gun battle erupts in Bori Threats/War of Words Following his victory at the Supreme Court, Governor Nyesom Wike came out to make a threat to officials of INEC and security agencies that would make any attempt to rig the upcoming legislative election. According to him, they would be treated as armed robbers. “Anybody who would come to the state with intention of stealing our votes by force of arms will be treated as armed robbers because armed robbers do not only steal money in Banks. Anybody who plans to rig our election would be resisted. “So any armed robber coming to the state on March 19 for rerun election should first call his wife, his first so and his lawyer to write his will because he would not come back. I have no apologies for saying that because Rivers is PDP and PDP is Rivers state,” Wike said while addressing his supporters at his inter-denominational thanksgiving and victory service in Port Harcourt on Saturday, February 27. He added: “The federal government promises to conduct free and fair elections. We will support them but we not support stealing of our votes. So I surprised that whenever I said those who would want to steal our votes would be treated as armed robbers, armed robbers they say I am threatening them yes, I will continue to threaten armed robbers. What people do not understand is that armed robbers do not only rob banks they can also use guns to rob our votes. They are all armed robbers. So if they are coming and hands clean to conduct free and fair elections they have nothing to fear. Therefore I will stand firm to fight armed robbers. So my APC brothers should join me to fight those with guns to steal our votes. “Nobody will sit in Abuja and write the Rivers state results. I challenge APC candidates to mobilize their people to test their popularity as they claimed they are in their various constituencies.” Reacting swiftly, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, the APC candidate in the Rivers south east senatorial district re-run election slammed Governor Nyesom Wike for threats against his life and that of officials of INEC. He said: “There is an evil in Rivers state and I have chosen to speak against it. If anything happens to me, Nigerians, Rivers, Ogoni people and my family should hold Governor Nyesom Wike and his PDP responsible because the threat against my life is too much. “That the antics of Wike could better be explained by the proverbial offspring of the toad and the snake, who were innocently playing together until they had a break and returned to their mothers. “The mother toad admonished her child for playing with a dangerous animal while; mother snake also did the same to the child for not swallowing the toad only to complain of hunger. Acting on this advice, the little snake beckoned on the toad for another round of play. The toad replied, what your mother told you, my own mother also told me.” APC, PDP clash at a parley with service chiefs Death Toll In the last two weeks, five events have occurred to raise red flags relating to insecurity and electoral violence in Rivers state. The first was the slaughter of 24 people in one day at Omoku in Ogba Egbema Ndoni LGA of Rivers state. The second was the attack on the military at Yeghe town in Gokana local government area by well-armed militant youths after it was alleged the army killed some residents in the area. The third was the burning down of the campaign office of Senator Magnus Abe at Bori, Khana LGA by suspected political thugs. The fourth was the killing of 18 people following gun-duels in Gokana and Khana local government area of Rivers state. The last was an attack on a bank and the engagement of citizens and the Police by armed robbers at the new GRA axis of Port Harcourt, crisscrossing all the way to Ikwerre Road. The robbery and the ensuing shootout lasted for several hours on Wednesday February 24. This renewed wave of violence is unprecedented in Rivers state history. Dangers Ahead Like most states in Nigeria, Rivers state has always had some history of political violence since the 2003 general elections. However, what is being witnessed today is a dimension taken too far, especially before, during, and after the 2015 general elections. A number of reasons may be advanced for why Rivers state is now a hot bed of political violence, but one of these reasons is certainly the quest for power. Reports in many quarters have it that some of the political actors of the 2015 electoral era in Rivers state have actively sponsored, promoted and supported violence as a means to an end. It is regrettable but true as it’s quite evident that cult gangs hold power in many communities in Rivers state today. The situation has worsened to the extent that nobody feels safe anymore in Rivers state. Today, the people of Rivers state are groaning under the agonizing weight of kidnapping, assassinations, armed robbery, political violence, and all forms of criminality. However, the general question is how long are the people of Rivers state going to live like this? Sadly, it is most likely going to get worse with the forth coming re-run elections for legislative houses coming up in two weeks. The early warning signs are quite obvious. The March 19 rerun legislative elections in Rivers state will be held in the three Senatorial Districts, 11 House of Representatives Seats and 22 of the 32 state assembly seats.
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