Admin l Saturday, May 05, 2018
PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria – There was palpable confusion in most of the 23 local government areas of Rivers State, as the All Progressives Congress, APC, ward congress that was scheduled to commence at 9.am, on Saturday, May 5, was mired in a whirlpool of uncertainty.
Various groups of APC members loyal to Senator Magnus Ngei Abe under the aegis of Coalition of Concerned Citizens of Rivers APC began their protest as early as 8.am, decrying what they described as: “an attempt to deliberately sideline Senator Abe’s supporters from the ward congress.”
The group staged a peaceful protest at about 200 metres from an Intel’s facility at Eastern Bypass, where the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, is alleged to have stored the electoral materials for the ward congress. Members of the group were protesting against the inability of Senator Magnus Abe’s supporters who paid for forms but could not buy nomination forms because they were adjured to be loyal to Abe.
While Abe’s supporters were protesting the process leading to the ward congress, supporters of Amaechi, defiled the court order secured by Senator Abe’s loyalists, on Friday, May 4, on the eve of ward congress of the APC, in Rivers State, to go ahead with the ward congress. The confusion in which the process was shrouded was further exacerbated when Amaechi declared on radio, on Saturday morning, the day of the ward congress that there were no electoral materials because the process will be determined by option A4.
He stated: “No materials are needed for the ward congress. We are using option A4, whereby, people will queue behind a candidate of their choice. Anyone who says he is popular should be able to show it during the ward congress.” Electoral materials for the ward congress arrived late in virtually all the centres visited. The electoral officers were yet to arrive with the materials as at 11.55am, in Ward 4, in Port Harcourt Local Government Area.
Two operational Toyota Hilux vehicles were seen parked at close to the polling unit at Ward 4. At Ward 11, in Port Harcourt Local Government Area, the materials arrived at 12.30pm. The extant ward executive was dissolved at 2pm, while voting commenced at 2.20pm. Chairman of Ward 11, Daniel Chinda, said he was re-contesting for the position of chairman. He stated that the ward executive was not aware of court injunction restraining the party from conducting the ward congress.
The St. Andrews Model Primary School, at Diobu, Mile 1, by Emenike Junction, comprising wards 12, 13 and 14 was locked. No APC official, party members, electoral officials and materials were seen in the premises of the primary school. No ward congress took place at Ward 2, in Tai Local Government Area. The Publicity Secretary of the ward, Prince Young, said no voting took place. He added that no official from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, was seen in Tai up to 12 noon.
As at 2.30pm, most polling units in the wards at Obio-Akpor Local Government Area were empty.
