INEC moves Rivers LGAs elections to Sunday.

PORT HARCOURT – The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has moved the Governorship and State Assembly elections in Asari-Toru Local Government Area (LGA) and parts of neighboring Degema LGA to Sunday, March 19. This is because there were problems with the polls in those areas.

Vanguard heard that there was a ruckus at the Registration Area Center (RAC) in Buguma, the headquarters of Asari-Toru LGA, when voters couldn’t find the INEC Electoral Officers (EOs) and Result Sheets for the area.

It took security agents on the ground to calm down the angry voters, who insisted on being able to identify the INEC EOs and Result Sheets before the materials could leave the RAC and go to the different wards and polling units.

Due to the tension, the INEC Adhoc Staff had to stop their work and go back to their base with the election materials.

INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner in Rivers State, Dr. Johnson Sinikiem, said that the commission’s position on the situation was that elections could not be held in Asari-toru LGA and Ward 14 of Degema LGA.

“Elections could not hold in the mentioned places as a result of the Voters resisting deployment of election officials and materials for Governorship and State

House of Assembly election. Voters and other stakeholders demanded seeing the Ward Collation Officers before they would allow election to commence.

“At Ward 14 of Degema LGA, voters equally demanded that the SPO must come to the RAC with collation sheet which is the responsibility of Collation Officers, thereby not allowing election to hold.

“Standing on this premise and relying on section 24 of the Electoral Act 2022, the INEC has decided to conduct the election of Asari-Toru local Government Area and Ward 14 of Degema Local Government Area on the 19 of March, 2023”, the REC stated.

(Vanguard)