Voting begins in Rivers State Local Government Election

Accreditation and voting have started in some polling units in the Rivers Local Government Election where seventeen political parties are contesting for positions.

The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) had initially listed 18 political parties for the election but the APC wrote to the commission that it would not be participating in the elections reducing the number of parties to 17.

The party was included when a faction led by Senator Magnus Abe wrote to the state electoral umpire to participate in the election, but when the Supreme Court settled the party’s leadership crisis, recognizing the Chibuike Ameachi faction as the authentic leadership, the party then wrote to RSIEC to withdraw for the election.

However, The Nigeria Police Force has deployed 17,500  Police officers to provide security in Rivers state for the ongoing local government election

The Rivers State Executive Governor Nyesom Wike, also warned the resident in the state against disrupting the election, ordering restrictions of movement within the state so that the election can go peacefully.