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Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, will today, Sunday, 6 October 2024, swear in the newly elected council chairmen at the Executive Council Chambers, Government House, Port Harcourt, the state capital, at 4 pm.
This is contained in a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Tammy Danagogo, dated 6 October 2024, and made available to PUNCH Online.
According to the statement, the newly elected chairmen, along with one guest each, are expected to be seated by 3:30 pm.
The Chairman of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, Justice Adolphus Enebeli (retd.), declared 22 chairmanship candidates of the Action Peoples Party as winners of the 5 October 2024 local government elections in the state.
He declared the results in Port Harcourt on Saturday, saying that the candidates, after the collation of results, scored a majority of valid votes cast in two-thirds of their respective wards in the 22 local governments.
Enebeli, who is also the Chief Electoral Commissioner for the election, added that the result of the chairmanship position for Etche LG was stood down by the commission because of its expansive landscape with 19 wards, which slowed down the collation process.
The election was, however, marred by violence in areas where suspected political thugs and some men in police uniforms wreaked havoc.
The incident, which took place at Elekahia Primary School in Port Harcourt City LGA, saw RSIEC officers and voters scampering for safety, as 21 Hilux patrol vans with heavily armed men drove into the election venue and immediately fired tear gas canisters.
Also, two explosions were reported at the All Progressives Congress secretariat along Aba Road and the Obio/Akpor Local Government secretariat. The state police command said its units had responded swiftly, visiting the scenes and collecting samples for investigation.
Another notable occurrence was that RSIEC officials were absent in Ward 9, Rumueprikom, Obio/Akpor LG of the state, the hometown of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesome Wike.
A voter, who gave her name as Oluchi, said, “Election did not hold in Rumuiprikom; that’s what we noticed. But in other places, they’re doing elections. We don’t even know what happened.”
A similar situation was observed on NTA Road, Mgbuoba, and Ozuoba communities in Obio/Akpor LG.
