In this file photo, a woman puts her ballot paper in the box after voting.
On October 5, residents of Rivers State came out to vote for the next set of representatives that will govern them at the grassroot level.
It was an election that had generated a lot of controversy before its commencement over its legitimacy, however, the Action Peoples Party(APP) emerged victorious sweeping 22 of the 23 LGAs.
The state electoral umpire suspended the declaration of results for Etche Local Government Area (LGA) because the collation is ongoing.
READ ALSO: Gunshots In Port Harcourt During Rivers LG Election
Declaring the results on Saturday in Port Harcourt, the Chief Electoral Officer of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), Adolphus Enebeli, said that announcement for the 319 councillorship seats will be announced alongside that of the Etche Chairmanship position when collations are concluded.
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On election day, two explosions rocked the state. Police authorities confirmed that one of the incidents happened earlier on Saturday.
“The first explosion was reported at the APC Secretariat on Aba Road at approximately 3:00 am. A security guard reported hearing a loud bang and, upon investigation, observed three black Toyota Hilux vans speeding away from the scene,” the spokesperson of the Rivers State Police Command Grace Iringe-Koko said, adding that the incidents are being investigated.
“The explosion caused significant damage, destroying the gate and shattering the windows of the building. Additionally, the security building was set ablaze. The second explosion occurred at the Obio/Akpor Council secretariat around 3:30 am. Eyewitnesses reported seeing a black Toyota Hilux van and a white Toyota Sienna minivan drive past the secretariat.”
Gunshots were equally reported in some parts of Port Harcourt, the state capital. Some unidentified persons who rode in a black Toyota Corolla were spotted firing gunshots around the Wimpy area of the state which is a stone’s throw from the home of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike.
Some members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had earlier in the week protested against the conduct of the election and had stormed the Department of State Security office and the Government House both in Port Harcourt to register their demand.
Saturday’s declaration of results brings to an end a pulsating run to the local government election in the oil-rich state.
The election followed the Federal Government’s three-month grace for states to conduct local government polls.
Ahead of the exercise, police authorities had said they would not provide security for the election, citing a court order. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was also barred by a court order from presenting the voter register to RSIEC.
That move created ripples in the state, leading to a heightened atmosphere days before the election.
Undeterred, Governor Siminalayi Fubara vowed that the poll would hold and stormed the RSIEC office around 1:00 am on Friday, alleging that police operatives in the state want to thwart the exercise.
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Governor Siminalayi Fubara had sworn in 23 newly elected local government chairmen in the state.