Members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and a faction of the All Progressives Congress, APC, have gathered to protest at the PDP State Secretariat Complex in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, ahead of the local government election.
According to Channels Television, there are massive presence of security officers at the PDP secretariat as protesters stormed the area in large numbers.
The large number of protesters was said to have caused slow movement of vehicles on the road, as security officers struggled to control the crowd.
The protesters carried placards and banners of various inscriptions, chanting songs in protest.
One of the displayed banners reads: โTAI people say no to lawlessness. Say no to LGA election. RSIEC must obey court judgment. SIM must obey court judgementโ.
This is coming as the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, said it was yet to release the 2023 Voter Register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC.
According to the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Johnson Alalibo, at a press briefing in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, RSIEC had applied for the Register, but it was yet to be released to them.
He also confirmed that the Commission received the court judgement from Abuja barring it from releasing the register.
The local government election is scheduled for October 5, 2024.