Political parties in Nigeria get more time to campaign, how candidates in Rivers are likely to use the 7-day extension window

Political parties in Nigeria get more time to campaign, how candidates in Rivers are likely to use the 7-day extension window

By PHC Telegraph

Political parties in Nigeria have been granted more time to woo undecided voters to back their candidates in the Governorship and House of Assembly elections. Officially, outdoor campaigns were expected to come to an end at midnight Thursday, March 9, 2023. 

But the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC,  after it obtained an order of court Wednesday to reconfigure its BVAS machines said the relief granted came a bit too late.

The Commission decided to shift the forthcoming Governorship and House of Assembly elections to March 18, 2023.

While the ruling of the Tribunal makes it possible for the Commission to commence the preparaton of the BVAS for the Governorship and State Assembly elections, it has come far too late for the reconfiguration to be concluded.

“Consequently, the Commission has taken the difficult but necessary decision to reschedule the Governorship and State Assembly elections which will now take place on Saturday 18th March 2023.

“By this decision, campaigns will continue until midnight of Thursday 16th March 2023 ie. 24 hours before the new date for the election”, INEC’s Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education, Barrister Festus Okoye said.

Following the ruling by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (EPT) on the reconfiguration of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), the Commission met.

The idea was to assess the impact on the ongoing legal battle on the Commission’s preparations for the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections scheduled for Saturday, 11th March 2023.

“Nigerians would recall that on 3rd March 2023, the Presidential EPT had given an exparte order for some political parties to inspect materials used for the Presidental election, including the forensic inspection of over 176.000 BVAS used in the election which are located in INEC LGA offices across the country.

“The Commission approached the Tribunal to reconsider the order, given that the BVAS Systems were to be deployed for the Governorship and State Assembly elections and that the lack of a clearly defined time-frame for the inspection could disrupt the Commission’s ability to conduct the outstanding elections.”

“Having been used for the Presidential and National Assembly elections on 25th February 2023”, the Commission explained, “it is necessary to reconfigure the BVAS for activation on the date af the Governorship and State Assembly elections.”

How candidates in Rivers are likely to use the 7-day extension window

In the meantime,  political parties in Rivers State have the opportunity to cover more grounds and where possible deal with certain gray areas in their campaign.

Seven days was not something they looked up to until INEC blew the whistle, but seven days is what they have to utilise as they deem fit.

Dumo heads off to Abonnema:

Chief  Dumo Lulu Briggs, flagbearer of Accord Party is expected any moment from now to hold a massive political rally at Abonnema in the Akuku Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State.

It was supposed to be his last outing before the gubernatorial election and a chance to remove whatever is left  in that ancient city of the presence of Tonye Cole, the APC candidate.

Dumo and members of his team may have to think of what to do with seven additional days that the INEC extension has allowed.

The visibility of the Accord candidate appears low in the Upland areas where most of the votes in Rivers can be found.

Dumo has lost many foot soldiers who made him popular across the State. Nonetheless, overcoming Tonye Cole has become an obsession especially after the latter in 2018 snatched the APC ticket from the former through a palace coup planned by Rotimi Amaechi.

Itubo caught in cul-de-sac:

Mrs Beatrice Itubo of the Labour Party was perhaps the worst hit as the initial campaign period came to a close.

The entire structure of the party collapsed into the PDP at the last minute, leaving her with nothing to lean on.

Seven days may not be enough to deal with the damage that the mass exit of members of her team has caused, but the political sagacity of the labour leader will be  put to test at least.

Not many agree that she would make any head way despite the strong show of the obidients who are largely Igbo.

Dealing with the language snag;

Asari Dokubo may have set out to campaign for Tonye Cole of the APC on Arise News, but many who watched the show say he may done more damage to the man’s ambition than good.

The freedom fighter who admitted Cole could speak impeccable Yoruba and Ibo hinted that the Kalabari candidate could neither speak fluent Kalabari nor dance to the traditional tunes of his people.

Asari’s utterance confirmed what many have continued to hammer on, the fact that Cole is not a home boy.

Coming from Asari, what happened was an “accidental discharge” from the barrel of a gun that was supposed to be in the hands of friendly forces.

Now Rotimi Amaechi who strives in controversial circumstances has added another dimension by reintroducing the abandoned property issue.

Many Rivers people are shocked Amaechi seems poised to generate bad blood between Rivers people and Ibos.

Among Rivers families which may have owned properties after the Nigerian civil war via the David Mark Committee, Tonye Cole who is being sponsored by Amaechi will remove roofs over their head in exchange for Igbo votes.

Abe’s mid-run chance:

Senator Magnus Abe of the SDP may have been petrified as rumours that he has stepped down for the PDP candidate,  Sir Siminalayi Fubara began to make the round.

Abe, it was learnt, had received instructions from President-elect, Bola Tinubu with whom he shares close ties asking him to step down for Sim.

Nobody knows how true the message is. Somehow the account was going momentum in the parallel information market.

With seven days left to go, Abe may have the opportunity to repair the damage this may have caused.

Insiders working with the Senator, we have learnt, are praying that Abe will throw in the towel. There doesn’t appear to be light in the tunnel, according to what we have gathered.

“Governor Nyesom Wike is his friend. He has helped us a lot. This is the time to pay him back. History is not on our side in this race”, an aide of the gubernatorial candidate who did not want his name in print remarked.

Sim unstoppable:

Siminalayi Fubara of the PDP is waxing stronger by the day as Rivers people prepare to vote. Everywhere, people and groups are moving in droves to register their support for the kind hearted technocrat and humble flagbearer whose blueprint is turning out to be the best.

Apart from the support that he is getting from the APC, the Labour Party structure completely collapsed a few days ago in his favour.

The SDP is struggling to remain intact and the information we are getting suggest some people in the party are likely to move under the seven day window.

We have learnt through impeccable sources that the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, is throwing its weight behind the PDP candidate.

Wednesday, the Okada arm of the Road Transport Workers Union joined the mass movement.

They vowed that their PVCs would be reserved for Sim on voting day.