Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt

Scores of supporters of the All Progressives Congress, APC,in Rivers State today protested the alleged imposition of candidates for the May 23 local Government elections, to be organised by Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC.

The APC protesters who were mainly drawn from Ahoada West and Obio-Akpor local government areas said some party bigwigs abused their positions to manipulate the local government party primaries.

For Ahoada West,Chief Ngozi Otobo,a chairmanship aspirant who led APC supporters to protest at the party headquarters complained that there were no materials brought to Akinima, the headquarters the council where party delegates waited up to 8pm for materials and officials of the party to conduct the party primaries to no avail.

He alleged that the materials were hijacked by Mr. Samuel Enyiba,Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs who is also interested in contesting the Chairmanship seat.

“The Chairmanship seat was zoned to Igbudia where I emerged after a keen contest with four other contestsnts. We were supposed to have an open contest at the APC party primaries to pick the aspirant who will slug it out with aspirants from other parties during the local government election. But Eyinda using his position in government would not allow the primaries hold”,Chief Otobo alleged.

He wondered why a serving Commissioner who had not resigned his position as required by law is also manipulating internal party machinery to position himself as the APC candidate for Ahoada West local government.

Protesters from Obio-Akpor alleged that Mr Tony Okocha, the immediate chief of staff to Governor Chibuike Amaechi also used his privileged position to impose a Chairmanship candidate on Obio-Akpor APC.

The protesters insisted that state Executives of the party must address their grievances and live up to the “Change” in the abnormal way of running a party where internal democracy is not allowed to thrive.

However, Dr.Davies Ikanya, the Chairman of the party in the state who arrived at the party Secretariat amidst tight security tried to calm the peaceful protesters by assuring them that their grievances have reached the party leaders and investigations are on to address them.

Party supporters still milled around the Secretariat insisting that they want assurances that proper party primaries conducted in the affected local government areas.

Calls put across to both Okocha and Eyinda did not go through.

Meanwhile, the PDP in the state has gone to court to challenge the legality of the local government election alleging that RSIEC breached the local government electoral law.

The party warned that the proposed election would be nullified by the Courts.