Inec staff serving in Rivers ask to be transferred to neighbouring states as they fear for their security

DOZENS of Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) staff serving in Rivers State have asked to be transferred to alternative locations as a result of the ongoing violence there that it likely to resurface when vote counting resumes.

On March 9, 29 of Nigeria's states went to the polls to elect governors and the process continued last weekend when supplementary polls were held in five states. Of Nigeria's 36 states, 34 have elected their governors with Adamawa and Rivers being the only two left with unresolved issues.

In the case of Adamawa, Inec is just waiting for a court decision today to complete the process but in the case of Rivers State, the matter is a lot more complicated. During both the presidential elections on February 23 and the gubernatorial polls on March 9, Rivers witnessed more violence than any other state in the country.

Armed troops had to be drafted in to Rivers State and this appeared to worsen the situation as there were reports of clashes between soldiers and voters. As a result of the uncertainty, Inec suspended the announcement of election results in Rivers State and it is still not yet clear if supplementary polls will hold there or if there will just be a resumption of counting.

One member of staff who simply identified herself as Cordelia, said that although no local government was safe during election period in the state, places like Emohua and some riverine areas were more volatile than the others. She added that the fear among Inec staff had increased after ad-hoc worker, Ibisaki Amachree, was shot dead while she was moving election materials to a registration area centre.

She said: “Majority of us are considering applying for transfer from Rivers State to any other states close to it. This is because of violence as for the past four to five years now, every election in the state has been marred by violence.

“It is not like that in other neighbouring states. Remember that an Inec ad-hoc worker lost her life and we learnt that she was shot by a soldier, so we are afraid and that is why some of us may begin to seek transfers soon.”

Another employee of the commission said: “I don’t think some of us can be part of the conduct of another election in 2023. The level of violence in the state during election is disturbing as politicians, security agents and thugs intimidate us during election periods.”

Some Inec staff who covered Abonnema in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area during the presidential elections on February 23 were said to have asked to be posted to other areas that were less volatile for the governorship and Rivers State House of Assembly polls. During the presidential elections, the area reported high incidences of ballot box snatching, thuggery, voter intimidation and assaults on Inec staff.