Protests erupted at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secretariat in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Thursday, as tensions escalated ahead of the Local Government election set for October 5, 2024.
According to reports from Channels Television, a large crowd of protesters gathered at the party’s secretariat, prompting security personnel to intervene in controlling the situation and managing traffic in the area.
The protests stem from concerns over the delay in the release of the 2023 Voters’ Register by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).
Previously, The PUNCH reported that Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja issued a ruling on September 30, 2024, preventing INEC from releasing the voters’ register to RSIEC due to ongoing legal disputes.
Despite the court order, Governor Siminalayi Fubara has insisted that the election will proceed as planned. Fubara pointed to an earlier Supreme Court ruling, which mandates that all states must have democratically elected local government executives, as justification for continuing with the election.
