April 17, LG Elections In Rivers: Names Of Political Parties, Candidates Published
…APC Missing, PDP’s 23 Chairmanship, 319 Councillorship Candidates Cleared
…AAC, SDP Field 189 Councillorship Candidates
…As Election Campaign Ends Thursday, April 15
With three days to the April 17 Local Government Elections in Rivers State, the electoral umpire, Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) has put all the frameworks in place to ensure a transparent, hitch free polls.
To this end, the Aba Road, Port Harcourt headquarters of RSIEC has become some sort of mecca for the participating political parties who are leaving nothing to chance to ensure that the guidelines for the 2021 Local Government Council Elections as spelt out by RSIEC are not violated.
Right from Thursday, April 1, 2021 to the time of going to press on Tuesday, April 13, 2021, parties have submitted, in writing, names, passport photographs and addresses of Party Agents and the Polling Stations/Units to which they have been assigned by the candidates in line with Section38 of RSIEC Law No. 2 of 2018.
On Tuesday, April 6, 2021, RSIEC published Notice of date and time of poll, full names and addresses of the candidates’ location of polling station or unit and display of voters’ register at every unit, as stipulated in the guidelines for the 2021 local government council elections.
However, the knell of the activities is the final publication of names of candidates, their nominators, addresses and occupation at RSIEC headquarters along Aba Road by Bori Camp Junction, Port Harcourt.
Efforts by National Network to obtain the official list of participating political parties and their candidates paid off as RSIEC displayed the list of 17 political parties that would participate in the April 17, 2021 Local Government Election at the Commission’s office along Aba Road in Port Harcourt.
The political parties include: African Action Congress, Action Democratic Party, Accord Party, Social Democratic Party, National Rescue Movement and Action Alliance.
Others are Peoples Democratic Party, Labour Party, Zenith Labour Party, Young Progressive Party, Allied Peoples Movement, All Progressives Grand Alliance and African Democratic Congress.
Also participating in the election are New Nigeria Peoples Party, Boot Party, Peoples Redemption Party and Action Peoples Party.
A glean at the list showed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has the highest contestants with all 23 Chairmanship candidates and 319 Councillorship candidates cleared by the electoral umpire.
Closely following the PDP is Accord Party, fielding 21 Chairmanship candidates and 112 Councillorship candidates. African Action Congress has 20 Chairmanship candidates and 95 Councillorship candidates cleared to contest; while Zenith Labour Party and Social Democratic Party are going to the polls with 20 and 13 Chairmanship candidates respectively.
Details of the list shows as follows: For Councillorship Election – PDP (319); Accord Party (112); African Action Congress (95); Social Democratic (94); Zenith Labour Party (28); New Nigeria Peoples Party (14); Action Democratic Party (13) and Labour Party (11) etc.
Conspicuously missing in the RSIEC list is the All Progressives Congress (APC). It will be recalled that the Caretaker Chairman of the party in the State, Isaac Ogbogbula had written to RSIEC informing them of the party’s decision not to take part in the election but followers of Senator Magnus Abe had allegedly insisted on contesting the election.
National Network decided to publish the list of Chairmanship candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party as follows: Allwell Ihunda (Port Harcourt City); George Ariolu (Obio/Akpor); Ben Eke (Ahoada East); Vincent Nwaobakata Job (Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni); Thomas Bariere (Khana) and Erastus Awortu (Andoni).
Others are Samuel Nwanosike (Ikwerre); Rowland Sekibo (Akuku-Toru); Hope Ikiriko (Ahoada West); Vincent Nemieboka (Ogu/Bolo); Chidi Lloyd (Emohua); Confidence Deko (Gokana) and Daniel Opelia Daniel (Abua/Odual).
Also vying for the chairmanship slots on the PDP ticket are Enyiada Cookey-Gam (Opobo/Nkoro); MbakponeOkpe (Tai); Akuro Tobin (Okrika); Michael John Williams (Degema); Chisom Christian (Omuma); David Irimagha (Bonny); OllormateObarilor (Eleme); Obinna Anyanwu (Etche); Okechukwu Akara (Oyigbo) and Onengiye George (Asari Toru).
