Rivers Re-Run Polls Now Hold, March 19

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the postponement of the re-run elections for 22 Rivers State House of Assembly and 15 National Assembly seats from February 6, to March 19, 2016.
The electoral body, which took the decision after a meeting with stakeholders on Monday, said the postponement will enable affected political parties and candidates prepare for the re-run elections.
The Public Relations Officer, INEC, Rivers State, Miss Antonia Nwaobi, said the shift in date was to address the agitations from the political parties that the February 6 date was too close, and may not allow them to prepare adequately for the elections.
According to Nwaobi, “INEC headquarters, at a meeting with stakeholders on 1st February, has approved that re-run elections in Rivers State be held on 19th March, 2016.
Sources at the Rivers State INEC office in Port Harcourt informed The Tide that the decision to shift the re-run polls is to allow the new Rivers State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Elder Aniedi Ikoiwak to resume and settle down in his office.
Some of the leaders of the political parties, who spoke, expressed happiness over the shift in date, and said they can now settle down, and prepare for the elections.
The state Chairman of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), Deacon Princewill Enyi, said he was happy with the new date, saying that it will afford them the opportunity to campaign and put other logistics in place for the re-run elections.
Also, the Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Engr. Joshua Worlu, said his party would field some candidates for the state and national assemblies’ elections, adding that with the shift in date, the party will go back to the drawing board to see how it can capture some seats in the re-run elections.
It would be recalled that the former Resident Electoral Commissioner for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in Rivers State, Gesila Khan, had on the eve of her redeployment from the state last week, announced February 6 date for the rerun elections, saying, however, it was tentative.
The Tide gathered that most of the political parties had not shown any interest to participate for the elections.
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission, yesterday, released the time-table for the re-run elections in the federation.
The elections, which cut across 16 states of the federation, including Rivers State, according to the electoral body, will only involve political parties that participated in the last election with their respective candidates.
The elections are for the electoral issues that terminated at the Appeal Court.
According to the released time table, constituent election for Gombe will hold on the January 27th, Adamawa, February 13th; Kaduna, Plateau, Niger, Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Taraba and Imo February 20th.
That of Abia, Anambra and Bayelsa States have been scheduled for March 5th; Akwa Ibom slated for March 12th while Cross River and Rivers scheduled for 19th March.
The commission noted in a terse statement signed by its Secretary, Mrs. Augusta Ogakwu that “consequent upon the judgment of the court, the commission will conduct the elections in 69 of the said constituencies with the same political parties and their respective candidates.”

Ike Wigodo & Oluchi Nnabugwu

Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, addressing civil servants at the State Secretariat complex in Port Harcourt, yesterday.