ONYEDI GABRIEL, Port Harcourt
The elections conducted across the 23 local government areas of Rivers State on Saturday witnessed low turnout of voters.
Though the All Progressives Congress did not participate in the poll, other opposition candidates complained that the Peoples Democratic Party hijacked the process.
The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission distributed sensitive and non-sensitive materials for the poll on Friday to allow for early commencement of the process on Saturday.
But materials for the exercise were said to have arrived most polling units late, while people complained that materials did not get to other polling units.
Most polling units had few voters while many residents preferred to stay at home.
A youth leader from ward 8, Bori, Khana Local Government Area, Mbadiwe Marcus said the election did not hold in his ward.
Marcus said the electoral officers failed to bring the result sheets for the poll.
He said: “There is no sensitive material and result sheets for the ward. The electoral officer has not been seen since elections started and this is 1:00pm.
“I went to the station to receive our materials and what they brought there had no result sheet in it.”
Also, Kenneth Barikpowikpo, Councillorship Candidate of Africa Democratic Congress (ADC) in ward 17, Bori, said he could not vote because there was no election in their area.
He said: “There was no election in ward 17 Khana. We did not see the result sheet for the election. We tried to interrogate the SPO why there are no result sheets. He said the EO should be asked.
“If they announce anybody in our ward it is fake. There was no election in the said ward. I want the ward to hear and know.”
Also, the Councilorship Candidate of Social Democratic Party (SDP,) ward 11, Abalama in Asari-Toru LGA, Daerego West, expressed dissatisfaction with the process.
West alleged that the PDP hijacked the voting materials, and denied him and other parties the right to cast their votes just as he called for cancellation of the election.
He accused the PDP of snatching the original result sheets for the election and passing a vote of no confidence in RSIEC for collaborating with the PDP to rig the elections.
But the supporters and candidates of the PDP expressed satisfaction in the process and commended RSIEC for conducting a free and fair election in the state.
The incumbent Chairman of Akuku-Toru Local Government Area and candidate for the poll, Rowland Sekibo, described the process as impressive.
Sekibo said: “The election is impressive on the turnout of voters. The only complaint is that a lot of electoral officers and material did not arrive units till 10:am. I am not aware of voters’ apathy in the LGA.”
Sekibo, who spoke after voting at his polling unit, ward 1 unit 2 said the exercise was peaceful but complained of low turnout.
He said that he told RSIEC of shortage of material and expressed hope that more materials would be brought and distributed across wards.