Rivers local elections, professor’s escape from abductors, other top stories from South-south

APP’s victory in Rivers local elections

We reported that after weeks of attacks, counter-attacks, and protests between supporters of Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and those of his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, the local election was finally held in Rivers State last Saturday.

The elections suffered several setbacks, including conflicting court orders and the police announcement on Friday that they were not going to provide security for the election.

According to results declared by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) on Saturday, the chairmanship candidates of the Action Peoples Party (APP) won in 22 of the 23 local government areas, while a candidate of the Action Alliance won in one.

The quest for power control at the grassroots is a major cause of the political rift between Governor Fubara and Mr Wike, the FCT minister.

Over a year after leaving office, Mr Wike still controls the PDP structure in the state. The party boycotted the election in solidarity with the minister, forcing Mr Fubara’s allies to contest under the platform of APP.

Governor Fubara last Tuesday predicted that the local elections would birth a new political structure in Rivers.

We reported that the governor on Friday accused the police of attempting to “cart away” sensitive materials meant for the exercise, but the police denied the allegation and barred officers from providing security for the election.

On Saturday, we reported that former President Goodluck Jonathan called on the National Judicial Council to address the proliferation of conflicting court orders in the country.

Mr Jonathan, reacting to the political crisis in Rivers State, said conflicting orders, particularly on concurrent jurisdiction, are ridiculing the judiciary and derailing democracy.

The former president’s statement came after a Federal High Court in Abuja barred security agents from providing security for the Rivers election and further barred the Independent National Electoral Commission from releasing voters registers to RSIEC for the conduct of the Rivers local elections.

However, a State High Court in Rivers had empowered RSIEC to conduct the election, citing the Supreme Court judgment, which directed the federal government to defund local governments run by appointed officials.

‘Reckless’ comment by Akwa Ibom governor’s aide

There was a local election in neighbouring Akwa Ibom State, where an aide to Governor Umo Eno boasted in a video that PDP, the ruling party in the state, would use funds from the state’s treasury to secure victory for the party in the local elections.

Also, on Saturday, we reported a fire in the office of the Akwa Ibom State Independent Electoral Commission in the Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area of the state.

The police spokesperson in the state, Timfon John, said “some hoodlums” partly torched the office but that the fire did not affect the election materials.

Away from politics, last Friday, Governor Eno assured the people of Akwa Ibom that her late wife’s pet project, the Golden Initiative for All, and other initiatives she had started would be sustained.

The governor disclosed this in a special broadcast to the people of the state after his wife, Patience, died of an undisclosed illness last week.

On Friday, we reported that fares have remained high in Uyo, about two weeks after Mr Eno intervened to bring down the price of petrol, which had risen to N2,500 a litre.

The price of petrol had skyrocketed in the state after marketers directed members to shut filling stations over a dispute with the Joint Task Force on Security in the state.

After the governor’s intervention, the price of petrol in the state reduced to between N1,100 and N1,400, but fares remained high.

Delta govt bars police from obtaining suspects’ statements without witness

On Friday, we reported that the Delta State Government has barred investigating agencies in the state from obtaining statements from suspects without a witness.

The directive is in pursuant of the new Administration of Criminal Justice Law in the state, according to the Director of Public Prosecution, A.O. Orhorhoro.

Meanwhile, the police in the state on Thursday recorded a breakthrough in child theft with the recovery of a three-day-old sold for N2 million.

READ ALSO: Fubara inaugurates panel to probe post-election violence in Rivers

Bright Edafe, the police spokesperson in the state said the suspects confessed to have bought the baby boy from a traditional home in Rivers State.

In the neighbouring Edo State, the State House of Assembly on Wednesday lifted the suspension on two lawmakers after five months.

On Monday, we reported how a Nigerian professor, Monday Igbafe escaped from his abductors in Edo State.