The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike has said that Rivers State is only a step away from the lifting of its emergency rule.
This, he said, followed the successful conduct of the local government elections conducted in the state yesterday.
Wike, the immediate past governor of the state, said with the emergency rule due to expire on September 18, suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and members of the state House of Assembly “will come back to their job.”
He spoke to reporters soon after casting his vote at about 11:15am in Rumepirikom, Ward 9, Unit 007 in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.
The elections were conducted across the 23 local government areas. It was generally peaceful.
Turnout of voters, though massive in the rural communities, was low in the cities.
Port Harcourt and Obio-Akpor were devoid of their usual hustling and bustling as many residents chose to stay indoors.
Apart from regular patrols by security agencies, especially the police and persons on essential duties, other vehicles were off the roads in compliance with the restrictions on human and vehicular movement by the police.
The ever busy Port Harcourt Slaughter Road, Ada George, Elekahia and other areas were deserted while all markets, malls and other business areas were shut down. Youths were seen playing football on major roads.
But it was a different story in the rural areas, particularly Ogoni communities like Baroko, Bera, Bidera and Biera, where opinion leaders mobilised residents to the various polling units to cast their votes.
However, suspended Governor Fubara was not sighted in Port Harcourt or his community in Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area.
His ward 5 in Opobo-Nkoro was said to have witnessed little voting activity.
It was also learnt that leaders of the disbanded Simplified Movement across the state stayed away from the elections
The Sole Administrator, Vice-Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), went round to monitor the election.
He was seen moving around polling units to observe the process and to ensure that the exercise was peaceful and orderly.
The FCT Minister described the exercise as peaceful.
He played down the low turnout of voters in places like Port Harcourt and Obio-Akpor, saying: “When you go to commercial areas, you don’t expect a large turnout of people. But when you go to residential areas, you expect a huge turnout.
“Particularly as I am here now, this is my community; you can see the large turnout. So it is in other areas.
“If you go to the rural areas, you expect more participation. For those people who are non- indigenes of Rivers State, they feel they don’t have any one participating in the election.
“I am very happy with the turnout of people. I have got reports from the rural areas that people came out to exercise their franchise.”
