Politics
‘Wike’s Re-Election Ordained By God’
The Amanyanabo of Abonnema Kingdom, His Gracious Majesty King Disrael Gbobo Bob-Manuel has described the re-election of Governor Ezenwo Nyesom Wike as a reaffirmation of the trust and confidence reposed in him by people of Rivers State.
King Bob-Manuel who said this in an interview with newsmen atAbonnema also said that the victory was not only well deserved but ordained by God.
He said that the good people of Nyemoni were happy that the governor emerged winner of the keenly contested elections, while noting that the victory of the governor was a reaffirmation of the trust and confidence reposed in him by the people of Rivers State.
While calling for an end to all politically motivated violence, hostilities and intolerance among political gladiators in the state, the monarch congratulated the governor for being magnanimous in victory by bringing everyone on board irrespective of their political inclination in order to leave behind a more united, prosperous and progressive Rivers State.
He urged political actors in the state to be statesmen, who should be more concerned about the next generation rather than the next election, adding that such tendencies to be or remain in power at all cost, were responsible for the rising surge of violence in the state.
The Amanyanabo stated that Rivers people were tired of the unending circle of political violence and bloodletting and it is gradually becoming embarrassing to us all to be talked about in negative terms.
He encouraged all politicians, who believe that the interest of Rivers State and not their personal interest comes first, to accept the Governor’s invitation to join hands with him to continue to develop Rivers State.
The royal father noted that with the elections officially concluded, what should be paramount to all Rivers men and women is in moving the state forward to compete favourably with its peers by attracting development through the creation of a conducive environment for existing and intending businesses to thrive.
He urged all politicians to remember that they were first of all Rivers people and therefore their priority should be the peace and development of Rivers State.
The monarch charged Rivers politicians to take a cue from politicians from other states who ensured that inspite of their political differences, they did not encourage mayhem and bloodletting in their states and homes.
He congratulated the Governor for preaching peace and forgiving all those who might have offended him and also urged all others in the opposing camps to forgive the Governor as he himself has requested. “We must forgive each other”, the Amanyanabo insisted.
The Amanyanabo also thanked the Governor of Rivers State for visiting Abonnema and sharing in their grief when they were in mourning, occasioned by the wanton killings at Abonnema by political thugs and men in uniform during the elections.
Prof. Amupitan gave the warning on Saturday, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during the South-South Zonal Readiness Assessment and Interactive Staff Engagement organised ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He said insecurity remained a potential challenge to the electoral process but stressed that the Commission would not allow threats against its personnel to undermine its constitutional responsibilities.
“Insecurity may pose a challenge, but our collective constitutional resolve is far stronger. Let me again send a clear message from Port Harcourt: anyone who attempts to threaten, intimidate, or harm our ad-hoc staff, NYSC members, or permanent personnel will be brought to justice under the full weight of the law,” he said.
The INEC Chairman, who was accompanied by National Commissioners, directors and technical aides, disclosed that the South-South engagement was the fifth in a series of zonal assessments, following similar exercises in the South-West, North-West, South-East and North-East.
He explained that his physical presence across the geopolitical zones reflected the Commission’s field-first approach, emphasising that electoral integrity must be established through effective operations at the grassroots.
According to him, the assessment would cover operational preparedness across the 123 Local Government Areas in the six South-South states.
On election security, Prof. Amupitan said INEC had moved away from reactive security arrangements traditionally activated around election day to a proactive, intelligence-driven framework known as the “ICCES Tentacle”.
He explained that the framework was designed to extend inter-agency security coordination from national and state headquarters to local government areas and Registration Area Centres, including remote communities.
He identified three critical pillars of the framework as mapping and mitigating security threats, protecting electoral personnel and infrastructure, and guaranteeing safe access to polling units.
The INEC boss said the security arrangement would provide comprehensive protection for electoral personnel, technological infrastructure, including Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices and server infrastructure, as well as voters.
He added that the framework was intended to ensure that every polling unit, irrespective of its geographical location or history of security challenges, remained safe and accessible for the exercise of democratic rights.
Prof. Amupitan disclosed that the South-South security architecture comprised approximately 60 major operational formations, headquarters and state commands operating under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
The network, he said, brings together military, naval, air, police and other security and intelligence agencies across the six states.
“Together, this integrated multi-agency network represents the operational backbone that guarantees intelligence-led protection across every riverine creek, coastal axis, and land-based polling unit in the Niger Delta,” he stated.
Providing an overview of the region’s electoral significance, the INEC Chairman said the South-South had the fourth-largest voting bloc in the country, with 15,823,550 registered voters, representing 15.30 per cent of the national register.
Rivers State alone, he said, accounts for 3,736,434 registered voters spread across the 23 local government areas.
Alhaji Abubakar made the demand following revelations that some INEC registration officers allegedly abused their access to the voter registration system to introduce irregular records into the database.
In a statement issued by his Director of Strategic Communications, Mr Phrank Shaibu, the former vice-president described the development as a serious breach of the Commission’s internal safeguards and raised concerns about the integrity of the electoral process.
He urged INEC to identify the officials implicated in the alleged misconduct and explain what disciplinary or legal measures had been taken against them.
Alhaji Abubakar also called for an independent forensic audit of the preliminary voters’ register to establish the scale of the alleged manipulation, identify affected records and determine how the questionable entries were introduced into the system.
He further insisted that INEC preserve all relevant voter records, image files, system access logs and electronic audit trails to prevent the destruction or alteration of evidence before an independent examination could be conducted.
The former vice-president also demanded that the Commission disclose the identities of companies contracted to produce sensitive election materials ahead of the 2027 polls, arguing that transparency was essential to building public confidence in the electoral process.
INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Lawrence Bayode, had earlier disclosed during a television interview that some registration officers across the country allegedly used their official login credentials to introduce irregularities into the voters’ database.
Dr Bayode explained that the Commission’s Automated Biometric Identification System helped identify questionable records and establish how some irregularities entered the system.
He, however, clarified that not all suspicious photographs were AI-generated, as some resulted from poor registration procedures.
The development followed public concerns over suspected AI-generated photographs, alleged duplicate entries and other inconsistencies discovered in the preliminary voters’ register published online on October 26, 2026.
INEC has maintained that the published document is a preliminary register and that it is reviewing questionable records ahead of the certification of the final Register of Voters.
The controversy has intensified calls for greater transparency and accountability in the management of the voters’ register as preparations gather momentum for the 2027 general elections.
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