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Voter Apathy Mars Rivers Council Polls

By Kelvin Ebiri (Port Harcourt)
24 May 2015   |   4:53 am
TURNOUT of eligible voters in Rivers State’s contentious local government election, yesterday, was unprecedentedly low.

NIGERIA-VOTETURNOUT of eligible voters in Rivers State’s contentious local government election, yesterday, was unprecedentedly low.

Insisting that a Federal High Court had restrained the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) from conducting the polls, yesterday, the secretary to Governor-elect Nyesom Wike’s transition committee, Mr. Frank Owhor, described the polls as a waste of taxpayers’ money, illegal, and an effort in futility.

Heavy rainfall in the early hours of yesterday and boycott of the polls by 15 political parties including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were some of the factors responsible for the apathy in Port Harcourt Old Township area and Obio Akpor Local Government Area.

Due to the downpour, a lot of eligible voters were prevented from leaving their homes for accreditation in some parts of the state. At some of the polling units around Rivers State University of Science and Technology that recorded huge voter turnout during the last general elections, very few persons came out to vote. The same applied to the Rumuworji playground polling centre.

Sources at Etche told The Guardian that voting was yet to commence at the time of filing this report. There was also controversy over voting in some wards and units in Okrika and Ogu/Bolo Local Government Areas. Similar situations were reported in other councils where the election was conducted.

Though the turnout in Opobo, hometown of All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Dakuku Peterside, was peaceful, the exercise was marred by low turnout of voters.

Peterside who was accredited at Ward 3, Unit 6, Opobo, said his people are enthusiastic about casting their ballots, now that they have opportunity to do so, unlike during the general elections.

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