‘Rumwoji Electorate And Credible Polls’

The five leading political parties in the country, out of about sixty three parties, having been satisfied with their level of preparations and extent of electioneering campaigns are now jostling to clinch victory, as the elections get started. Whether the ruling People Democratic Party (PDP), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), Congress for Progessive Change (CPC) or All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) will smile at the end of each of the elections spread across the four Saturdays in the month of April can only be seen after the conduct of each election and announcement of results by the umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Indications are rife that the 2011 general elections would witness massive turn-out, going by the level of awareness that the electorate have received. And this will be a distance from the apathy that has characterised past elections in the country.

A salient feature of the upcoming elections is that the electorate seem determined to go the extra mile, within constitutional provisions, to ensure the workability of the ‘one man, one vote’  ideology, injected into the process by largely staying back at the polling stations after voting, to defend their votes.

Even market men and women who constitute a large chunk of the electorate and who are known, over the years, to be active at elections, and who indeed are no push-over, are jostling to achieve just this. One of the market associations gave an insight into what they have on their sleeves, preparatory to the elections, as they made it point-blank that they are ready for the elections and have fully mobilised themselves for active participation.

Secretary-General of Rumuwoji Market Women Traders Association, Mrs. Peggy Okoro told The Tide in an interview in Port Harcourt that there would be a large turn out of their members at the elections as the association had left no stone unturned in stressing the importance of these elections to their members who are enjoined to exercise their franchise without fear or favour.

Also speaking with The Tide, a spokesman for the market’s umbrella association – the Rumuwoji Market Traders Association – Chief ThankGod Ebere said, aside turning out enmasse at the elections, the traders would heed INEC’s appeal that voters should protect their votes, by targeting hoodlums and agents of disgruntled and unscrupulous politicians who specialise in snatching ballot boxes at the polling stations, only to return them to INEC after illegally thumb-printing and stuffing them with ballot papers in favour of candidates of their choice.

“There is need to checkmate ballot box snatching at these elections so our association has put modalities in place to achieve this”, he told The Tide, adding, “we have not just men but youths we have many boys that we will keep on the trail of these ballot box snatchers at the polling stations, to catch them if they snatch any ballot box”.

In a similar interview, Chairman of Greater Port Harcourt Cluster Development Board, Hon. Dickens Worlu stressed the need for the elections to be violence-free and his Rumuwoji community’s commitment to ensure that the elections are peaceful in the community, and would want other communities to borrow a leaf nation-wide.

Hon. Dickens told The Tide, “This election is an election that we want to use as a litmus test and we have also tried to conscientise our people that violence does not pay. At the end of the day, whatever thing you do violently, you are being paid off for that thing at that particular time of that act; that they should be thinking of how to reap other things in future”.

He continued, “And we know that with this, on the day of elections, our youth, our brothers, our sisters, they’ll conduct themselves in a very peaceful manner. Even the youths today, they’ve been able to come out with committees to make sure that the election is violent-free. We will also turn out enmasse to cast our votes for our candidates.”

Mrs. Blessing Ibiba Nsiegbe, PDP candidate for Port Harcourt federal constituency II also shared the above expressed views.

Speaking at her formal presentation to Rumuwoji market men and women by the Nyeweli of Rumuwoji, Chief John Dike, the Council of Chiefs and Rumuwoji town council, she stressed the need for massive turn-out at the elections and for the electorate to vote according to the dictates of their conscience, in spite of money that may be given by politicians.

She said, the traders should disregard the money allegedly given to them by her  opponents.

Mrs. Nsiegbe added: “Do the right thing because I see it as a time of sowing  what you sow is what you’ll reap. Don’t sow some one that is not credible  let us vote wisely”.

She commended incumbent Rivers State governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi for impacting positively on the people of Rivers State, and expressed the hope that he would continue with ‘his good works’, after the election and expressed the fear that the opposition could create problem for the governor and the President, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, if they control the state and National Assembly.

Justus Awaji