Tomorrow, Saturday 10th December 2016, will mark the third attempt at concluding the Rivers State elections which started (and ended for most of the states of the Federation) in the March and April, 2015 general elections. But the case of Rivers State was different in that all the senators and all but one of the 13 members of the House of Representatives members were annulled at the electoral tribunals. Similarly, some of the House of Assembly seats were declared vacant.

However, after the 19th March 2016 rerun poll which was ruled inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following massive violence across the state, the various political parties are hotly contesting for the vacant three senatorial seats, eight federal constituencies and ten outstanding House of Assembly slots in tomorrow’s rescheduled election.

Violence has been the major reason behind the difficulty in concluding elections in Rivers State. The reason for the violence is obvious: Rivers is the foremost oil-producing state in the country as well as the second wealthiest, after Lagos State. It has traditionally been the ambition of every political party to be in charge of the state to enhance its economic and political stakes.

That is also why the two major political parties – the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have turned the state into a battle ground.

In spite of the “peace pacts” signed by the chief protagonists, Governor Nyesom Wike of the PDP and Minister Chibuike Amaechi of the APC, violence has claimed the lives of many people, including that of a Youth Corps member, Samuel Okonta.

The two sides are still sabre-rattling, with Governor Wike raising the alarm that his Chief Security Officer had been withdrawn from him which could endanger his life and prevent him from performing his duties as  Chief Security Officer of his state. On the other hand, the National Secretary of APC, Mala Buni, accused the governor of arming thugs with a view to rigging the election.

We call on all the federal agencies of law enforcement to perform their constitutional duties professionally. The various agencies and the INEC have carried out unprecedented deployment of personnel and equipment in Rivers for tomorrow’s exercise. These must not be put at the disposal of any vested political interest to the detriment of the other.

The people of Rivers State have been deprived of their right to representation for too long. We insist that tomorrow’s election must be conducted in such a manner as to give the people their right to choose those who will represent them. Otherwise, things could spiral out of control and threaten the stability of the nation at large. Tomorrow’s rerun election in Rivers State must be free, fair, peaceful, acceptable and conclusive.