Paul Ibe, spokesman for Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), stated on Saturday that the Rivers State local government election could mark the beginning of a new era of improved elections without police interference.
Ibe made this comment in response to the withdrawal of police from the Rivers local government election.
Posting on X, Ibe wrote: “The withdrawal of the @PoliceNG from today’s #RiversLGAPolls2024 will confirm to the whole world the anti-democratic elements and institutions in Nigeria.
“The outcome of the election may usher in a new regime in which our elections are better off without the police.”
Reports indicate that the Rivers State local government elections proceeded peacefully despite the absence of police officers, who had been barred from providing security during the exercise.
Election officials were seen handling accreditation and voting simultaneously at a polling unit in the Ikoku Area, Units 14 and 15, in Port Harcourt City Ward 18.
The Rivers State Police Command had announced its withdrawal from the election the previous day.
In a statement titled “Proposed October 5th, 2024 Local Government Chairman Election,” police spokesperson SP Grace Iringe-Koko confirmed that the command had received a restraining order preventing them from offering security during the elections.
The statement also acknowledged the September 30th, 2024, Federal High Court ruling in Abuja, which barred the police from participating in the election.
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