Over the last week, there has been bitter violence in Rivers State as elections resulted to widespread mayhem and bloodshed, forcing the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) to council polls in many areas. In response, the US and UK governments have expressed disappointment and sadness over reports of violence.
Joe Abuku, a British High Commission in Nigeria spokesman said that UK observers in the state saw irregularities around the voting and noted the low turn-out of voters at polling units which was in part a consequence of fear of violence. It called on the leadership of the PDP and the APC to encourage their supporters in Rivers State to behave peacefully.
Furthermore, the mission advised those still dissatisfied with the outcome of the election to pursue resolution of their grievances through the courts in accordance with the rule of law. Likewise, in the same vein, the US embassy in Nigeria said the violence that marred the Rivers rerun was unfortunate.
A US embassy spokesman added: “We call upon the leadership of Nigeria’s political parties to urge their supporters to conduct themselves peacefully throughout the electoral process. We call on those dissatisfied to pursue a resolution of their grievances peacefully in accordance with the rule of law.”
On Sunday, Inec suspended all electoral processes regarding the re-run. Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, the director of Inec's voter education publicity, announced that the results were released in nine state constituencies and one federal constituency in the state. He added that the release of further results were suspended due to reports of violence, attacks and even the deaths of Inec officials and adhoc personnel.
All Inec personnel have since been relocated to Abuja due to the escalation of violence. Mr Osaze-Uzizi said Nigerians should expect the decision on when results of concluded elections would be released.
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