The South-South Zonal Chairman of the Labour Party, Prince Favour Reuben, and the Rivers State Chairman, Hilda Dokubo, have differing opinions regarding the credibility of the local government election held on October 5.

Dokubo stated that the election was peaceful and credible, noting that there was no basis for anyone to protest the outcome after voting in the Asari Toru Local Government Area. “Participating in the election was the right thing to do to move forward,” she told Classic FM. She emphasized the importance of having an elected local government in place, adding, “It doesn’t really matter now the outcome. We have to face the reality and live with it,” the Labour Party chairman said.

Conversely, Reuben criticized the election, claiming it was compromised from the start due to the unavailability of result sheets at the polling units. He pointed out that the lack of police presence allowed for vote buying and thuggery. He asserted that anyone from the opposition who claimed the election was credible should be scrutinized. “No sound opposition will tell you that this election was credible or fair unless the person is in collaboration with the destroyer of the electoral processes in Rivers State,” Reuben said.

He further accused the state electoral commission of deceiving opposition candidates into spending large sums of money on forms and campaigns, even though they were aware a free election would not take place. “You allowed us to spend our hard-earned money to campaign, to buy forms to raise money for RISIEC, and at the end of the day you didn’t allow us to do election,” he lamented.