The Rivers State rerun elections have come and gone but protests have taken over where shooting and killing stopped. The confusing thing is that both winners and losers are protesting and complaining. The police and electoral umpire have got no single pat on the back, but threats, attacks and quit notices.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) took to the streets on Friday, December 16, a day after the rival People’s Democratic Party (PDP) did the same. The PDP won two senatorial seats and about seven lower seats, while the APC won just one senatorial seat and about five lower seats, yet the war of words has continued.
On Friday, the wheel of commerce was nearly ground to a halt in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, following the counter protest by the APC.
The PDP had on December 15, marched to the police headquarters led by the governor, Nyesom Wike, and other party chieftains who demanded for the immediate removal or deployment of some senior police officers serving in the state, saying the officers helped to breach the elections.
Wike and the PDP singled out the Deputy Commissioner of Police and the Head of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) in the rerun.
Next, the APC called out its party faithful to counter the PDP protest that shut down economic activities in most parts of the Garden City, including traffic jams that increased the one already caused by road repairs.
As early as 7am, the APC headquarters along Forces Avenue in the heart of Port Harcourt was already jammed and the traffic was being diverted to Azikiwe Road to ease the tension.
By 8am, the APC leadership including the party chairman, Davies Kianya; former secretary to the state government (SSG) in the state, Sampson Agbaru; another former SSG, Aleruchi Cookey-Gam; chiefs such as Ejoor Ngofa, Vincent Uchendu, and the APC chairman in Emohua Local Government Area. The publicity secretary of the party, Chris Finebone, led the processions where Wike led that of the PDP.
Finebone led the crowd through the Forces Avenue, right across the Government House to Moscow Road, and to the State Police Headquarters to register their protest. They were received by the Deputy Commissioner of Police for Administration, Cyril Okoro, in the absence of the Commissioner of Police.
From the police headquarters, the peaceful but large protest moved down to the State Secretarial and down to Azibuike Road on their way to the INEC office along Port Harcourt/Aba Road.
The entrance of the APC protesters along the Port Harcourt Aba Express Road was the climax of the traffic jam as both the commercial and social lives of the city stood still for hours during their march to and from the INEC office.
During the protest, the protesters carried several placards with both funny and abusive words with them.
Some of them read, “New Rivers of Blood”; Governor Wike, allow Police to do their work”; etc. Some of the placards passed insults to the INEC boss and others.
The other placard reads “We condemn the beheading of police officers”, “President Buhari, direct your fingers on INEC officers”, “Wike stop dictating for INEC”, and several others.
As at the time of going to press, the traffic jam left behind by the APC protesters would last for at least half the day.
Most working class and businessmen who spoke with BusinessDay during the Friday protests described the protests as unnecessary and a waste of time because of the distractions and emotion they caused in the Oil City
Port Harcourt, they pointed out, needs peace and progress now to regain her lost glory and not the so-called protests by the political parties.
