As the March 19, 2016
date set by the Independent National Electoral Commission for the re-run legislative elections in Rivers State draws closer, all the stakeholders in the political process seem to have woken up to the realisation that they cannot do the same thing the same way and not get the same result. This is clearly evident in the obvious reviews and reworking of some of the strategies adopted by the various stakeholders in the April 11, 2015 exercise annulled by both the Election Petitions Tribunal and Court of Appeal.
Part of the reworked strategies by INEC is the new guideline for accreditation and casting of ballot to take place simultaneously. The security agencies through the Police Commissioner in the State have also issued fresh assurances of their preparedness to ensure a safe and conducive atmosphere for a smooth exercise. Of course, there are many who believe that the immediate goal of the sustained hunt for suspected criminals and the invasion of their suspected hideouts across the State by the military is more political than security.
The political parties and their candidates on their part have raised the quantum and tempo of their activities and have since started criss-crossing and even double-crossing, their constituencies and opponents to enhance their electoral fortunes.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the Degema Constituency seat in the Rivers State House of Assembly, Dr Farah Dagogo, and his train were at Ogurama, the headquarters of Ward 187, Degema Local Government Area, last weekend, where he disclosed to The Tide his strategy for winning the March 19 re-run election.
Dagogo who spoke to The Tide at the sidelines of his political to the community and the reception of defectors from the All Progressives Congress, APC to the PDP said that at the heart of his strategy was his resolve to engage with the electorate directly and persuading them to accept his proposal for a better deal and thereby earn their votes.
“For you to win election, you must win the minds of the people and for you to win the minds of the people, you must engage with them to sell yourself and your proposal through face to face dialogue,” he said, adding that this was important in order to build “a relationship of trust and confidence with the people which will make it easier for them to freely give their mandate to you to go and represent them.”
According to the Tombia born politician, this is the philosophy behind the PDP taking is candidates and supporters to all the wards and communities in the LGA to meet with the people who ultimately reserve the power to decide their political fate and fortune.
Dr. Dagogo who regretted losing the April 2015 election at the Court of Appeal said even though he believed he won the election fair and square, he had put the incident behind him in submission to the rule of law and advised his supporters to continue to conduct themselves peacefully and abide strictly by the electoral guidelines.
“Of course, I keep advising everybody that a free and fair election is what we want and that we must eschew violence and conduct ourselves peacefully as we go out to vote,” he said and charged his opponents to also preach and commit to a violence-free polls.
In the same vein, the aspiring lawmaker enjoined the electoral umpire, INEC, to live up to its promise of a level playing field for all parties and contestants and to ensure that electoral materials are not diverted to undesignated and unlawful places. He called on the security agencies to intensify their efforts in order to inspire confidence in the people to go out and exercise their franchise.
Also speaking with The Tide, a chieftain of the PDP in the LGA, Chief Ombo Benebo expressed confidence that his party would have nothing less than a landslide victory going by the level of work they had done.
“We’re confident we will win the election because we have been everywhere to sell our candidate to the people and everywhere we have gone, the reception has been overwhelming,” the veteran politician explained, adding that the work had been made easier by the disposition of the candidate and his performance during his few months in office at the Rivers State House of Assembly.
He said that apart from effectively representing his constituence, the State House of Assembly candidate of the PDP in Degema had relieved parents in the LGA of financial burdens by paying the fees for all students enrolled for the forthcoming Senior Secondary School Examination (SSCE) while he has concluded plans to do the same for those preparing for the Junior WAEC.
Chief Benebo decried electoral violence in all its ramifications, insisting that it was no longer fashionable for politicians to resort to unlawful means to secure electoral victory.
“This is not the time to use violence to win elections. That era is gone. Now everyone is required to go and sell their candidates to the people o accept them for what they can do for them,” he reiterated, pointing out that “we are going to the field for the people to freely make their choice.”
The party stalwart appealed to INEC and the security agencies to live up to their constitutional responsibility and resist acceptance to compromise them one way or another.
“We’re sincerely pleading with INEC to come with clear hands. They should be prepared to declare results that come from the polling units only and not any written results from anywhere else,” he said, adding that “we will stand to resist the acceptane of any written resuls by

Opaka Dokubo