Trust Betrayed; a report of the River State
Local Government Council Elections
Released by
The Electoral Project,
Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development
(CEHRD)
6, Obo Nwanke Street,
Post Office Building,
Ogale – Nchia,
Eleme,
Rivers State
Tel: 082557893, 082557885, 082557883
Email: nigerdeltaproject@yahoo.com
Website: www.cehrd.org
With support from
Stakeholder Democracy Network
(SDN)
34/35 Emekuku Street,
D/line,
Port Harcourt
Monday, April 21, 2008.
Contents
1.
Introduction
2.
Pre-Election Scenario
3.
Foreword to the flawed poll;
4.
(i)
Khana
(ii)
Gokana
(iii)
Tai
(iv)
Eleme
(v)
Ikwerre and
(vi)
Obio/Akpor
Bye Elections;
(i)
The Gokana case study
5.
Recommendations
6.
Acknowledgement
1.
Introduction:
The Rivers State independent Electoral Commission (RSEIC) is a 7member electoral body statutorily constituted by the Rivers State
government to conduct chairmanship election into the 23 local
government councils in the State, and is also tasked to conduct
councillorship elections into the 312 wards which spread amongst the 23
local government areas in the state. The elections were held in sequence
on Saturday, March 29, 2008. The commission is led by Professor Nimi
Briggs, the former vice-chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt.
1.
1.
Naagbanton, Patrick, “Diary of An Election Spectator”, The Midweek Telegraph, April 3 – 9, 2008, Page 13.
2.
Pre-Election Scenario:
Few days before the election, the Public Affairs and Education
Directorate of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission
(RSIEC), headed by Hon. Nimi Walson Jack gave grants to some civil
society groups in the state to the tune of one million naira ($ 9,000) to
organize civil education through out the Local Government Areas, in the
state. Some of the groups’ civic trainings in the areas were also accredited
to monitor the elections. Besides the civic education, the state electoral
agency also pursued intense public and media campaigns to evoke the
sympathy and confidence of the prospective electorates in the process.
2.
The various political parties had some little time to campaign. CEHRD
deployed monitors to Tai and Gokana Local Government Areas, to
monitor party candidates, their campaign slogans, actions etc. The
monitors were detailed to monitor mainly the candidates of the ruling
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The candidates are Hon. Barry Mpigi,
ex-chairman of the Tai Local Government and ex-commissioner for youth
affairs in Rivers State under the past administration of Sir, Dr. Peter
Otunaya Odili.
2.
Interview with Nini Walson-Jack, head of the Public Affairs and Education Directorate of RSIEC, Monday, March 24, 2008, Port
Harcourt Rivers State. Walson Jack is a lawyer by profession and executive director of the Centre for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit making organization based in Port Harcourt. Walson-Jack was also the Rivers State civil society nominee to the commission.
While, the other candidate is Chief Victor Giadom for the Gokana area,
he was a member of the Rivers State Library board and also former
member of the Rivers State Petroleum task force. Both candidates like
other candidates of the PDP in other areas whether Chairmanship or
Councillorship were imposed on the party by their various god-mothers
and god-fathers in the party. No genuine and democratic congress
produced them. The congresses of the PDP which produced the
candidates were marred by violence, manipulation and threats. The party
itself lacks internal democracy and transparency.
3.
Foreword To The Flawed Poll:
As noted above, the elections were held on Saturday, March 29, 2008,
throughout the state. The eve of any election in Nigeria is when a lot of
malpractices take place. In Gokana Local Government Area, members of
the Seresibara, a notorious cult group founded and funded by Magnus
Abe, former commissioner of information and current secretary to the
Rivers State government, attacked members of the leading opposition
party, Action Congress (AC) in his Bera community. Posters, secretariat
and other materials of the party were not spared too.
Joseph Pango, the new Caretaker committee Chairman of the Gokana
Local Government Area and a Law teacher at the Rivers State University
of Science and Technology (RSUST) was moving from one village to
another in his domain, threatening village’s heads to vote and mobilize
their villages for the PDP during the election or risk depositions.
Gokana and other Local Government Councils administrators like Pango
also uses council allocation (fund) to fund PDP activities during the
period under review.
3.
4.
5
6
3.
4.
Naagbanton, Diary of An Election Spectator
Interview with Prince Bariture Beni Goka, the AC councillorship candidate for the Bera community (Ward 16) he was threatened
and exiled from the community by the Seresibra cult.
5. Interview with a chief in Bodo community on Friday, April 28, 2008, Bodo is Pango’s community.
6. ibid
In Tai, the story was similar to that of Gokana, Mpigi allegedly
“imported” well-known cultists as his thugs from the urban Port Harcourt,
the capital of Rivers State into the rural area. Members of the opposition
AC were chased away, from the various communities that make up the
Tai area. The situation reported above was the situation in several parts
of Rivers State on the eve of the election.
7.
7.
Interview with Pekin Pelo, AC Chairmanship candidate for Tai Local Government Area on Friday, March 28, in Bunu
community, Tai. His house was razed down later by rampaging PDP thugs on the day of the election.
CEHRD monitored the election in the following Local Government
Areas; Khana, Gokana, Tai, Eleme, Ikwerre and Obio/Akpor.
(i) Khana:
The Electoral Officer (EO) in the area started distributing voting materials
to the various wards supervisors in the area at 11:30am.
In wards 12, units 5, 2, 1 and 3, materials, arrived there at about 12:23pm
and at unit 5 voters refused to turn up. Those interviewed said they
refused to turn up because their votes can’t determine who will emerge
winner at the end of the day. In ward 15, there was no material, materials
meant for unit 1, 2 and 3 that belong to the Luawii community and unit 8
and 9 which also belong to kapnor community were reportedly, diverted
to the House of Hon. Emmanuel Deeyah, the House of Representatives
member representing Khana and Gokana constituencies. While, the
remaining ones were diverted to the home of Greggory Pienua, an exmember of the Rivers State house of Assembly. Both are strong PDP
members. Election never took place there, but results were declared later
by the RSIEC.
(ii) Gokana:
In Gokana, the Electoral Officer (EO), Mr. Ofuru Johnson, a lawyer and
the Supervisory Polling Officer (SPO), Mr. Ugochukwu Akaniwo, both
officials of the RSIEC took all the original result sheets to the house of
Magus Abe in the Bera community, while massive thumb printing was
taking place, while violence continued at the various wards in the area.
The dreaded Seresibara cult kidnapped Prince Goka, the AC candidate for
the Bera ward and took him to Magus Abe House until the thump printing
by the PDP ended. Also, in the area, Pango, the council administrator was
moving from one polling station to another with heavily armed soldiers of
the Joint Task Force (JTF) intimidating people and enforcing the PDP
order. Throughout the wards, the turn out was impressive, but no voting
took place. Yet, RSIEC declared results.
(iii) Tai:
In the area, serious violence took place. Thugs of the PDP allegedly hired
by Mpigi moved from one community to another maiming and destroying
properties of the opposition AC members. In Bunu, the house of Perkin
Kelo the AC Chairmanship candidate was razed down. At Koroma, home
of PDP candidate, Mpigi, all AC members were banished from the
community. When CEHRD monitor visited the area, only PDP
supporters were seen massively thumb printing and stuffing ballot paper
into the boxes. In same Koroma, members of the JTF and police
patrolling the area, clearly working for the PDP watched while a RSIEC
official was being beaten and material snatched from him by PDP thugs.
In the entire area, voters were stranded. They never had access to any
voting materials, yet result was declared by RSIEC.
(iv) Eleme:
The materials meant for Eleme Local Government Area were distributed
to the various wards in the area from the Divisional Police headquarters at
the Ogale community at about 11:00am. In wards 1 – 3 where CEHRD
monitors visited, voting started at about 1:00pm. Only PDP officers were
sighted massively thump printing as security officials watched helplessly
as the malpractices continued. In ward 1, unit 3, there was serious
fighting as an AC member attempted to cast his vote. He was warned not
to do that by the PDP supporters. When he insisted and voted, he was
beaten and injured.
At same unit 3, all the posters bearing AC candidates were torn and
removed. At unit 6 of the ward 3, no election observer or journalist was
allowed to come to the ballot boxes where the PDP loyalists were doing
the stuffing. Mr. Bariela Bara-ol, a CEHRD staff and monitor was
threatened by rampaging PDP thugs. The result was later declared and
PDP won all positions. In Alesa, an AC supporter was shot dead by PDP
thugs wielding few Russian made AK-47 riffles.
(v) Ikwerre:
At ward 1 unit 6, Ogbodo in Isiokpo clan of the Ikwerre L.G.A as at
4:17pm when CEHRD officials visited the areas. CEHRD saw the
presiding officer, Nwosu Endurance Chima thumb printing ballot papers
for the PDP, but when he sighted CEHRD officials he hid the papers
under his table. In the whole of the Ikwerre area, the thumb printing by
the PDP started relatively late.
(iv) Obio/Akpor:
Rumoduomaya town hall and other units there, as at 11:10am, there was
no voting.
4.
Bye Elections;
Massive violence, irregularities and other forms of electoral malpractices
marred the April 29, 2008 Local Government Elections in the state. The
Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) has later
decided to re-run polls for 4 Chairmanship and 70 councillorship seats,
except Degema in the Local Government Areas. The statement was
credited to Hon. Nimi Walson-Jack, commissioner in – charge of Public
Affairs and Educations.
8.
Chairmanships bye elections were held in Oyigbo, Andoni, Ahoada-East
and Opobo-Nkoro respectively, while councillorship bye elections were
held for some wards in Abua/Odual, Ahoada-East, Ahoada-West, Eleme,
Emohua, Etche, Gokana, Khana, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, Ogu/Bolo, Okrika,
Omuma, Opobo-Nkoro, Oyigbo, Port Harcourt City and Tai Local
Government Areas.
As for Degema, there was a court order granted to the PDP that there
should be no election.
(i) Gokana:
When CEHRD monitor arrived ward 2 (Bodo community) to monitor the
bye election as at 9:00am, PDP faithfuls and thugs had allegedly thumb
printed the ballot papers over night and completed voting there contrary to
RSIEC guideline that voting should commence at 10:00am.
At ward 17 (Biara community) materials arrived at 10:00am and while
voters were queuing up to vote. Magnus Abe later arrived with two bus
loads of JTF soldiers and they fired gun shots into the air and voters ran
away as Abe and his JTF soldiers took the ballot boxes to his house and
thumb printed for the PDP. In ward 9 (Lewe, Gbe and Kpor) it was the
same drama.
8. Ada
Omukpai, There’ ll be no Election in Degema. The Port Harcourt Telegraph, April 21-27, 2008, page 3.
5.
Recommendations:
CEHRD hereby recommends the followings:
(i) That the entire Local Government election be cancelled and a new
one conducted in line with civilized standards and laws
(ii) That those who committed the above electoral crimes be prosecuted
immediately so that this will serve as a deterrent to others.
(iii)
As the name implies, Rivers State Independent Electoral
Commission (RSIEC), the commission needs to be restructured to be truly
independent of the government in power in terms of funding, appointment
of members and its power.
6.
Acknowledgement:
The Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD)
wishes to thank the Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN) for providing
her with a small grant to monitor the local government election. CEHRD
also wishes to thank the following staff who coordinated the monitoring
of the elections and provide it with current information about the election
incidents. The staff includes Patrick Naagbanton, Steyvn Obodoekwe,
Bariela Bara-ol, Anthony Aalo, Sebastian Kpalap, Nenibarini Zabbey and
Justine Ijeomah (a volunteer) and Alex Wikina.