Tensions soared in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Saturday, October 5, when policemen allegedly fired teargas at polling stations during local government elections. Witnesses report that about 20 patrol vans filled with heavily armed officers arrived at Elekahia Primary School, one of the voting centers, where they discharged teargas while voting was in progress, disrupting the entire process.
The elections had begun earlier that morning, with the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) distributing materials to local government areas (LGAs) across the state. While some voters had already started casting their ballots, others were still waiting for election materials when the alleged teargas incident occurred.
This disruption comes in the midst of a deepening political crisis between Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and former governor, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike. The power struggle between these two figures has put the state in a tense situation, with growing divisions among political factions.
The election disruption followed a recent court ruling that barred the release of the 2023 voter register to RSIEC and prohibited security agencies, including the police and the Department of State Services (DSS), from overseeing the elections. On September 30, a Federal High Court in Abuja issued the ruling, which was meant to prevent the elections from moving forward, but Governor Fubara insisted on going ahead despite the legal obstacles.
On October 3, protests broke out at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secretariat in Port Harcourt, with demonstrators opposing the planned elections. However, Governor Fubara reaffirmed his commitment to proceed with the voting, dismissing concerns raised by the protesters. Just days before the election, he visited the RSIEC office, accusing the Inspector-General of Police of acting under orders from Nyesom Wike to interfere with the election.
In response to Fubara’s accusations, the Nigeria Police Force stated that its actions were in line with the Federal High Court ruling. Despite these assurances, the presence of police at the RSIEC office and the teargas incident have left many questioning the fairness of the election.
To add to the tension, an explosion was reported just hours before the election at the secretariat of a faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC), led by Tony Okocha, the former chairman of the APC caretaker committee in the state. This incident further deepened concerns about the volatile political climate in Rivers State.
The situation in Rivers highlights how political rivalries can disrupt the democratic process and lead to chaos at the polls. As the dust settles, voters and political analysts alike are left wondering how the conflict between Governor Fubara and Wike will unfold and what impact it will have on the future of the state.
For now, the focus remains on the disrupted election and the broader implications of the ongoing political struggle in Rivers State, where democracy is being tested by political power plays and rising tensions.
