Photograph — ThePost

It is expected that the Saturday polls will end the harrowing journey of the people of Rivers state, electing their representatives especially two years after the 2015 elections.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the National Assembly and House of Assembly elections held in Rivers State on March 28, 2015, and the April 11, 2015  respectively, inconclusive, citing violence, electoral fraud and general insecurity in the state. Many people hoped the rerun election of March 19th, 2016 will run smoothly and give a conclusive result but they were proved wrong as the exercise was again suspended because of massive electoral fraud, violence and killings–including the death of a Youth corps member, Okonta Samuel Dumebi. The fatigued electorate will queue up at the tomorrow again to elect their representatives in the upper and lower chambers of the National assembly nine months later.

Although INEC agreed to conduct the polls on June 30th, 2016, after a meeting in Abuja on June 20, 2016, with the political parties, civil society groups and other stakeholders, INEC, through its Secretary, Mrs Augusta Ogakwu, explained that the postponement was as a result of reported violence in the state.

“As a responsible organisation and conscious of the violence, maiming and fatalities which accompanied the previous election in March, as well as developments in the state since then, the commission cannot ignore such credible reports,” Ogakwu said.

“In the circumstance, therefore, it is compelled to further postpone the rerun legislative elections in Rivers State, as one of the principal conditions earlier stipulated for the rerun of the state for the conclusion of the election has regrettably not been met.”

But on Wednesday, November 2, 2016, the National Assembly ordered the INEC to conduct the rerun election in Rivers State not later than December 10, 2016. The Red Chambers threatened to suspend plenary sessions if INEC failed to conduct all the pending re-run elections into legislative positions in Rivers State.

But Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers state, had accused INEC of plans to rig the rerun election in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Mahmoud Yakubu, the INEC chairman, assured Nigerians that electoral body would continue to discharge its responsibilities according to law.

“INEC is poised to consolidate on the achievements of the 2016 elections. We will not be distracted by the allegations; we will do what we have always done to the best of our ability bearing in mind that we have a responsibility to the Nigerian nation,” said Yakubu.

A pro-democracy and good governance group, the Wailing Wailers, have urged chieftains of the All Progressives Congress, particularly the National Chairman, Chief Odigie Oyegun and Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State to stop making inciting statements capable of sparking violence in the state.

The Wailing Wailers in a statement on Thursday, in Abuja by its Acting National Publicity Secretary, Usman Abubakar, said, “Our attention has been drawn to the inciting statement credited to the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Odigie Oyegun and the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, which has been reconfirmed.”

“The statements, which they both made at the APC rally today, in the run down to the Rivers rerun, reads: ‘If they push you, push them back. If they slap you, slap them back. As you can see, we came in force. The whole federal might is here,” said Odigie Oyegun, APC National Chairman.

“If they shoot at you, take cover and shoot them back,” said Gov Ganduje, Kano State.

“Elections has been so peaceful, free and fair until APC took over powers, and ripped the electorates their power to freely choose who they want to govern them. Since then, elections have become a do or die affair with the APC. This is sad, we are also aware that all these are preparations to test ground for 2019.”

President Buhari has also reminded politicians and their supporters in Rivers state to put the higher interest of the people of the state in mind, as they go to the polls on Saturday. In a statement issued by Femi Adesina, his media aide, on Friday, the president urged all political parties, their candidates, other stakeholders and the people of the state to ensure that the polls are conducted without rigging, violence and intimidation of opponents and electoral officials.

“The rerun elections should not be seen as a do-or-die affair to the extent that people will be killed, maimed and property destroyed in a mindless display of crude primitive instincts. Innocent blood should never be sacrificed on the altar of political contest for temporary power,” he warned.

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