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Tag: Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

  • Elections postponement has not dampened my spirit – Atiku

    The Presidential Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has condemned the postponement of the general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) but said the development did not dampen his spirit.

    The commission had shifted the Presidential and National Assembly elections from Feb.16 to Feb.23, and moved the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections from March 2 to March 9.

    Abubakar, who spoke to newsmen at his residence in Yola on Saturday, said he was shocked by the development, adding that it was not the best of decision to cancel an election few hours to voting time.

    “I received the news with shock; you don’t postpone an election few hours to its commencement,” Atiku said.

    Read Also: Ndigbo endorsed Atiku in error, says Ngige

    He urged Nigerians to be patient and endeavour to come out and vote on the new dates of the polls.

    “I urge Nigerians to be patient and come out en masse to vote,” he said.

    Atiku said he was on his way to Abuja for a PDP emergency meeting over the development, adding that he had no problem with voting materials already distributed for the election as long as they were kept in the “right and secure places”.

    NAN

  • INEC postpones presidential, National Assembly polls

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) last night announced the postponement of the presidential and National Assembly elections because of unavoidable challenges.

    The elections are now billed to hold next Saturday.

    The challenges, according to the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahood Yakubu, include logistics, poor weather, fire incidents and allegedly overwhelmed Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    In a television broadcast early this morning, Yakubu said: “Following a careful review of the implementation of its logistics and operational plan and the determination to conduct free, fair and credible elections, the Commission came to the conclusion that proceeding with the elections as scheduled is no longer feasible.

    “Consequently, the Commission has decided to reschedule the Presidential and National Assembly Elections to Saturday, 23rd February 2019. Furthermore, the govemorship, state House of Assembly and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) area council elections is rescheduled to Saturday 9th March 2019.

    “This will afford the Commission the opportunity to address identified challenges in order to maintain the quality of our elections.

    “This was a difficult decision for the Commission to take, but necessary for the successful delivery of the elections and the consolidation of our democracy.

    “The Commission will meet key stakeholders to update them on this development at 2pm on Saturday, l6th February 2019 at the Abuja International Conference Centre.”

    The Nation gathered that although there is a window for INEC to stagger the conduct of the polls, Prof. Yakubu insisted on a tidier process than a haphazard format.

    Out of the three options available to INEC, it chose the postponement of the polls because that has “lesser risks.”

    The three options were staggered conduct of the presidential and National Assembly elections nationwide; adjustment of voting hours in some states or outright postponement of the elections.

    The last-minute decision to postpone the polls caught President Muhammadu Buhari, his arch-rival ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and 71 other presidential candidates unawares.

    A top source who spoke in confidence said: “As at noon on Friday (yesterday), INEC was still battling with the logistics of moving sensitive materials to about 10 out of the 36 states, especially the ballot papers, which are the most sensitive.”

    The source added: “The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is overwhelmed by the eleventh hour distribution of the materials. What compounded the logistics problem is bad weather which really affected the shipping of these materials from the vaults of the apex bank.

    “For instance, the sensitive election materials for Enugu State were airlifted on Thursday, but due to bad weather, the aircraft could not land.

    “After about two hours of hovering in the airspace in Enugu, the plane was later diverted to Port Harcourt.

    “INEC later made arrangement to move the materials with trucks to Enugu, which was a bit slow.

    “To demonstrate transparency, INEC ensured that representatives of political parties and other stakeholders were at the loading points. The materials are ready but they cannot be airlifted.”

    Responding to a question, the source added: “The fire incidents in some states like Anambra, Abia and Plateau states also contributed to the postponement of the polls.

    “In one of the states, about 4,695 smart card readers were burnt. Although arrangements were made to replace these cards, there was need for backup in case of technical hitches.

    “In the case of Plateau State, the INEC office affected by fire had to be relocated with its own logistic implications.”

    Giving further insight into other problems associated with logistics, the source added: “The ballot papers and other sensitive materials for Taraba State were loaded at the CBN office in Yola on Friday afternoon. But while the vehicle was making its way out of Yola, it broke down.

    “We could not get materials to Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State until very late on Friday. It became unrealistic to be able to distribute to all polling units before dawn for the poll.

    “The poll items for Niger East arrived the CBN office in Minna late, leading to rumours that they were missing.

    “In another instance, result sheets meant for Edo were shipped to Rivers State.

    “It was obvious that we needed time to sort out things.

    “This was what the INEC chairman spent much time explaining to stakeholders. He gave the situation report in a frank manner.

    “Opinions were divided at the meeting. Some wanted a shift of the poll by a week, others favoured Monday or Tuesday.”

    Findings however revealed that INEC’s initial major problem was how to convey the postponement to stakeholders, especially political parties and the candidates, after weighing the three options.

    Another source said: “Following the constraints, there were three options available to INEC, including staggered conduct of the presidential and National Assembly elections nationwide; adjustment of voting hours in some states and postponement of the elections by two or three days to put all the states and candidates on the same scale.

    “When security implications of the options were weighed, the choices of staggered and adjustment of poll timing were rated as “grave” and untidy.

    “The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Yakubu, vehemently rejected staggering the conduct of the elections and adjustment or extension of polling hours in some states because these options can muddle up the electoral process.

    “Instead, he tabled a proposal to postpone the elections by two or three days before his team of National Commissioners and the Secretary to the commission.

    “What INEC decided to do was to lay all the cards on the table by inviting representatives of political parties, local and international observers to explain its constraints before going public with the shift of the poll by some days.

    “The essence of the slight postponement was to enable all the states to have full complement of all the required logistics and back up.”

    The source said: “After earning the confidence of all the stakeholders, INEC chairman was mandated to make a national broadcast to explain its dilemma and appeal for restraint.

    “We are relying on Section 26(1) of the Electoral 2010, as amended and applicable in 2015 amendment, to shift the poll.

    Section 26(1) of the Electoral 2010 (As Amended), says: “Where a date has been appointed for the holding of an election, and there is reason to believe that a serious breach of the peace is likely to occur if the election is proceeded with on that date or it is impossible to conduct the elections as a result of natural disasters or other emergencies, the Commission may postpone the election and shall in respect of the area, or areas concerned, appoint another date for the holding of the postponed election, provided that such reason for the postponement is cogent and verifiable.”

    “The President, the PDP candidate Atiku and others were not informed until after the stakeholders had been briefed.

    “All these candidates had gone to their respective states to cast their votes without any inkling of the shift.

    “It is no doubt shocking, but all the parties and candidates have no choice but to abide by the decision of the umpire,” another top source added.

    A few days ago, the INEC National Commissioner in charge of Information and Voter Education, Mr. Festus Okoye, assured the nation that the commission will not shift the poll under any guise.

    He said: “INEC will be open and transparent throughout the entire election process. We are going to be upfront with information relating to our processes and our procedures.

    “Where ever we have challenges, we are going to be honest with the Nigerian people relating to our challenges.

    “In relation to this particular elections, we had some challenges yesterday (Tuesday), but we were able to recover, and as I speak, we are moving all the Smart Card Readers required for the conduct of elections in Anambra State and we are not going to postpone the election in any part of Nigeria on the grounds of some of these challenges.

    This is the second time INEC will shift the conduct of poll in four years.

    The electoral commission on February 7, 2015 shifted the conduct of the last general elections by six weeks to allow the military to secure the North-East from Boko Haram attacks.

    The elections, scheduled for February 14 and 28, were later held on March 28 and April 14.

    In 2011, the National Assembly elections were postponed by Prof. Attahiru Jega few hours after the commencement of the presidential election, due to non-availability of materials in many states.

    Jega, in a broadcast, apologised to the nation for the logistic challenges and announced a postponement by 24 hours.

    Jega had blamed the postponement of the elections on late arrival of election materials, especially result sheets in many parts of the country.

  • Breaking: INEC postpones today’s election

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the postponement of the Presidential and National Assembly elections slated for Saturday 16th February to 23rd February 2019.

    The commission furthermore postponed the governorship election slated for 2nd March 2019, to 9th March, 2019

    INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, blaming the postponement on logistics announced that a stakeholder meeting will hold at 2pm in Abuja, on Saturday.

    Details shortly…

  • Update: INEC sets to announce outcome of meeting with stakeholders

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) crucial meeting with stakeholders, including international and local observers over today’s Presidential and National Assembly election has ended.

    The Chief Press Secretary to Mahmoud Yakubu, INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, told journalists that a decision has been taken and the commission will address them soon.

    Details shortly…

     

  • Who wears the crown?

    WHO rules Nigeria over the next four years? That is the major task before voters as they go to the polls today to pick the country’s president in the biggest election ever in its history. Although a  total of 73 candidates are in the presidential race, according to the list released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the contest from all indications will be a straight fight between the  incumbent, Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the only candidates to have physically gone round the country to canvass for votes. It has been a tough duel; it is the race of their lives. But the odds seem to be in favour of Buhari with projections and poll experts tipping him to win the most votes.

    There are a total of 84 million voters registered for the elections and the March 2 governorship and state assembly elections. Buhari’s APC  is in control of the four states with the largest concentration of registered voters: Lagos 6.8m, Kano 5.4m, Kaduna 3.9m and Katsina 3.2m, and his popularity in the Northwest with 20.1million voters and Northeast with 11.2m voters is unrivalled. Poll projections suggest that in the Northeast,the President will win in Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Yobe while Atiku is likely to win in Taraba. Adamawa, where Atiku comes from, is generally seen as a battleground between the two leading candidates, although many residents acknowledge Buhari as the brain behind the relative peace being enjoyed in the state now after many years of insecurity unleashed by Boko Haram.

    Most of the states in North Central – Kwara, Kogi, Plateau, Benue and Nasarawa- are regarded as battlegrounds but Buhari is tipped to win in Niger. The Northwest, especially Kano with its enormous votes, has always been Buhari’s comfort zone .His home state – Katsina, Sokoto, Kaduna, Kebbi, Zamfara and Jigawa are all considered safe for him. Same goes for the Southwest where the APC is in control of the six states in the zone:Lagos,Ekiti, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo. Atiku is projected to win in all the five Southeast states of Abia, Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi and Imo, although Buhari is tipped to receive more votes in the zone than he did in 2015. Most of the states in the South-South are also projected to vote for Atiku. These are Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta and Cross River while Edo and Akwa Ibom are likely to cast their lot with Buhari. Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina have largest number of voters With  6,570,291 ,Lagos has the largest number of registered  voters for this year’s elections.It if followed by  Kano with  5,457,747, Kaduna with 3,932,492 and  Katsina  with 3,230,230. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it registered over 84 million voters for the elections .

     

    Following is the breakdown of  how voters were registered  state by state:

    Abia 1,932,892 Adamawa 1,973,083 Akwa Ibom 2,119,727 Anambra 2,447,996 Bauchi 2,462,843 Bayelsa 923,182 Benue 2,480,131 Borno 2,315,956 Cross River 1,527,289 Delta 2,845,274 Ebonyi 1,459,933 Edo 2,210,534 Ekiti 909,967 Enugu 1,944,016 FCT 1,344,856 Gombe 1,394,393 Imo 2,272,293 Jigawa 2,111,106 Kaduna 3,932,492 Kano 5,457,747 Katsina 3,230,230 Kebbi 1,806,231 Kogi 1,646,350 Kwara 1,406,457 Lagos 6,570,291 Nasarawa 1,617,786 Niger 2,390,035 Ogun 2,375,003 Ondo 1,822,346 Osun 1,680,498 Oyo 2,934,107 Plateau 2,480,455 Rivers 3,215,273 Sokoto 1,903,166 Taraba 1,777,105 Yobe 1,365,913 Zamfara 1,717,128

  • All eyes on INEC

    As Nigerians cast their votes in the presidential and National Assembly polls today, all eyes will be on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Will it deliver the credible elections INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has promised? ROBERT EGBE asks.

    FEMI Erinjogunola should not have had any reason not to cast his vote when this year’s polls get underway from 9 am today. The Graphics Artist and Judo aficionado registered for and obtained his Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) four years ago, just before the 2015 polls. But sometime last year, he noticed that his picture on the card had faded away, following which he lodged a complaint and applied for another one at INEC’s Mushin, Lagos office.

    “The officials noted my complaint, collected the damaged PVC and issued me a slip of paper. They promised to notify me as soon as the new card is ready,” Erinjogunola said. But they never did until last Wednesday, at exactly 6pm, when he got a text message, asking him to come for his PVC. He said: “When I got there, it was another story entirely. My name was not on the list of those whose cards were ready. They asked me and some others to come back for our PVCs after the elections.” Disenfranchised voters, unclaimed PVCs Erinjogunola’s story is not unique. There are probably hundreds of thousands like him around the country who fall within the same category, compulsorily disenfranchised by imperfections in the INEC’s system.

    There are also other categories: would-be voters who registered for PVCs but were put off by the sometimes stressful collection process, among other reasons. Since late last year, INEC has been raising the alarm about millions of unclaimed PVCs in many states across the country. On January 16, it moved about one million unclaimed Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) to 245 wards in Lagos State to make collection easier for their owners. INEC facilities going up in smoke But recently, unclaimed PVCs have been the least of INEC’s immediate worries. Last Tuesday, 4,695 smart card readers were destroyed by fire that razed INEC’s facility in Anambra State. It was the third fire incident affecting INEC in 12 days, following closely behind those of INEC’s offices in lsiala Ngwa South Local Government Area of  Abia State and Qua’an Pan Local Government Area of Plateau State. Some of the items destroyed in Isiala Ngwa included 2979 PVCs and other materials. At the Qua’an Pan office, items destroyed included 5987 uncollected PVCs, 380 Voting Cubicles, 755 ballot boxes, 14 generators, election forms and official stamps.

    How impartial is INEC? Last Wednesday, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Comrade Adams Oshiomhole accused INEC of working for the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Oshiomhole alleged that two Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in the South-South were seen campaigning with the PDP during the electioneering. He said: “As we speak, there are two Resident Electoral Commissioners who are virtually campaigning line by line with the PDP in the South-South. “INEC, without giving us any explanation and without any concrete evidence, went ahead to say we can’t field candidates in Zamfara, thereby seeking to award, without any context, and nullify democracy in Zamfara State. “Is that the way your friends behave if they are your friends? INEC is working more for the PDP, based on evidence I can show. How can they explain that a court of competent jurisdiction gave orders in Zamfara to say this candidate is eligible to contest election and another high court in Abuja also gave a verdict saying APC did not conclude its primaries but did not give order to INEC? “There is no order issued by the Federal High Court in Abuja.

    The Court of Appeal made a pronouncement on this matter today that there was no order from the court in Abuja, but that there was a concrete order from a Zamfara High Court which upheld the primaries that was conducted in Zamfara. “The INEC Chairman has said that when there are two court orders, they will adopt the last judgment. In Zamfara State, the Abuja judgment came first and the Zamfara judgment came last even though it is the same say. “More as INEC has said they will always obey the last judgment when it came to the Zamfara issue, they changed the goal post. As media, you have to be careful. When you say people alleged there were meetings and can’t even cite any, it is a disservice.

    We have been at the receiving end of abuse. “There is a candidate in Kano whose nomination we forwarded to INEC, but they changed the nomination and as we speak, we are in court over that. We showed our evidence.” We are impartial, says INEC But the commission denied the claims of collusion with any party to breach the polls. Rotimi Oyekanmi, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, called on Oshiomhole to provide proof of his allegations. Oyekanmi said: “It is not true that the Independent National Electoral Commission is working hand in gloves with any political party to do the wrong things. The issue of Zamfara and Rivers are well known. “In the case of Zamfara, the commission had written to the APC leadership to notify it that, due to its inability to conduct its primaries in Zamfara State within the stipulated time as required by law, the party cannot field candidates for the governorship election.

    Thereafter, two cases were instituted in court resulting in two rulings which were delivered the same day. The commission then adopted one of the rulings. “In the case of Rivers, it was the Supreme Court that took a final decision on the fate of APC. Therefore, both cases were purely judicial and INEC, being a law abiding institution, will always obey court orders/judgment.” Safety of NYSC members Last December 19, two United States-based political institutes National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI) – expressed worries over the general elections.

    They said Nigeria’s persistent insecurity and the perception about the lack of neutrality on the part of security forces could undermine voter participation and confidence in the outcome of next year’s polls. Several local analysts have also raised concerns about break out of violence in the elections, which could affect INEC staff, especially members of the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC), among others. Seven corps members were killed in Bauchi State during the violence that erupted after the 2011 general election. Also, one corps member was killed in Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State during the legislative rerun election in the state in March of 2016. However, the NYSC DirectorGeneral, Suleiman Kazaure, assured corps members last November 6 that those who chose to work with INEC during the polls would not be sent to volatile areas. Kazaure, a Brigadier-General in the Nigerian Army, gave this assurance when he visited the NYSC Orientation Camp in Sagamu, Ogun State. “I want to also state it here that no corps member will be used as ad-hoc staff in the volatile regions during the elections as their safety is of paramount concern to the scheme,” he said. 91 parties, 84m voters: Is INEC ready? The general elections will be contested by 56 out of 91 registered political parties and a total voting population of 84,004,084. According to INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, the polls will hold in 1,558 Constituencies and 774 Local Government Areas throughout the federation.

    “The collation of results will take place in 8, 809 Registration Areas/Wards and in 119, 973 Polling Units and 57, 023 Voting Points nationwide,’’ he said. The Presidential Election will be contested by 73 candidates, while the Governorship election will feature 1,068 candidates in 29 states. “The 109 Senate seats will be contested by 1,904 candidates, while the 360 seats in the House of Representatives will be contested by a total of 4, 680 candidates. “The 991 State Constituency elections will be contested by a total of 14, 583 candidates. The 68 Area Council seats in the Federal Capital Territory will be contested by 806 candidates,’’ he said. The commission will also conduct Area Council elections in the FCT, Abuja. “A total of 806 candidates will contest the election. This will involve 105 Chairmanship candidates and 701 Councillorship candidates.” Logistics hitches The logistics requirements of conducting such critical elections are bound to be huge. In previ ous elections, there were several cases of logistical hitches.

    This time round, can INEC fulfill its logistical duties? Are ballots going to be delivered to polling places on time? Will polling places open on time? How INEC will cope But INEC Chairman Prof Yakubu is not perturbed. He believes that several measures implemented by the agency will forestall any serious crisis. He assured Nigerians that their votes will count. Yakubu spoke when he received a delegation of the Commonwealth Observers Group led by former Tanzanian President, Dr Jakaya Kikwete, at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja. He stressed that the Commonwealth in its report on the 2015 general election made 32 recommendations, including the adoption of Simultaneous Accreditation and Voting System.

    The INEC boss said the commission had looked into the recommendations and implemented those within its power administratively, while those requiring amendment of the Constitution and Electoral Act had been sent to the appropriate authorities. Yakubu added that INEC had conducted 194 off-season elections with simultaneous accreditation and voting system, which is now part of election guidelines issued by the commission. The commission also said it had made other arrangements to make the elections peaceful around the country. For instance, INEC said it hired 1,700 buses for election duty in Enugu state for today’s elections. The commission said it would hire more than 10 trailers to move heavy materials and equipment before, during and after the polls – Enugu state currently has 1,942,776 registered voters, 4,146 voting locations and 260 political wards.

  • Difficult terrains: INEC hires donkeys, bicycles in Gombe

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is hiring  donkeys and bicycles to distribute election materials in hard-to-reach parts  of Gombe State.

    Alhaji Umar Ibrahim, Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state told reporters in Gombe that the difficult terrains were villages located in Yamaltu-Deba and Shingom Local Government Areas.

    Ibrahim said the commission had made adequate arrangements in terms of security and conducted massive voter education.

    He noted that there was provision for brail ballot papers for the blind and the lepers could use their legs to vote.

    Ibrahim said INEC also made provision for magnifier for those that have problem with their sight.

    He also said the commission mounted tracking system and monitors for the election process.

  • INEC distributes sensitive materials to LGAs in Bayelsa

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Bayelsa State yesterday begun the distribution of sensitive materials to various Registration Area Centres (RAC) in the eight council areas of the state.

    Speaking in Yenagoa, the INEC Administrative Secretary in the state, Mr. Leberi Sampson said that the commission had already procured enough boats and buses for the exercise.

    He said that INEC decided to distribute the material directly to RAC centres instead of local government headquarters to enable them get to their polling units on time.

    He said: “Buses are available and we have been evacuating the materials from here straight to RAC centres and not the LGAs because it is easier to send those materials from the RAC to the polling units.

    Read also: Different strokes for different states

    “We have also enough boats for easy access to the coastal communities and definitely it wills to various before 8am, all materials will be available to all centres.

    “I urge the electorates not to bother because is ready to conduct credible and acceptable polls”.

    On security of the voting materials, he said the security personnel were fully on ground for smooth distributions.

  • PDP accuses INEC of hoarding election result sheets

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of hoarding the presidential and senatorial elections result sheets for undisclosed reasons.

    The party also claimed that its agents were being denied the INEC accreditation and identification cards ostensibly to shut them out of the election monitoring process and allow the All Progressives Congress (APC) a field day to manipulate the process.

    In a statement yesterday by the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party said its monitoring and intelligence showed that INEC had been distributing sensitive election materials in most states of the federation without the presidential and senatorial elections results sheets.

    The statement said: “The development is already heightening tension and suspicion of underhand method by the commission to open the elections for manipulations and allow the APC to enter fictitious results for onward transmission to collation centres.

    “Intelligence available to us indicate that this is part of the plot for which President Muhammadu Buhari’s relation by marriage, Mrs. Amina Zakari, has been retained as the head of the INEC collation centre.

    “The PDP therefore cautions INEC to show its impartiality by immediately releasing the presidential and senatorial elections result sheet as well as the accreditation cards. Any further delay will be a clear recipe for crisis as Nigerians are already highly agitated over the matter.

    “INEC should note that Nigerians are very anxious about this election and any action that in anyway portrays or tends to portray the process as being manipulated is capable of triggering a crisis of unprecedented proportion in our country.”

  • Rivers APC wants INEC boss jailed for contempt

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate in Rivers State, Pastor Tonye Cole want the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu sent to jail for contempt for allegedly refusing to obey an Appeal Court order of stay of execution.

    Director, Strategic Communications for the Tonye Cole Campaign Organization, Prince Tonye T.J.T Princewill said in a statement in Abuja that the INEC boss has already been served contempt proceedings to come and explain to the court why he has refused to comply with the order of court.

    Princewill said a delegation from the APC in Rivers State has served contempt proceedings on the Chairman of INEC for not being independent enough.

    According to him, Yakubu is to appear in court to explain why he should not be sent to jail for disobeying subsisting court orders by excluding APC candidates in Rivers State.

    He commended Rivers people for showing restraint and implored them to come out and vote as who becomes President is who determines the leaders in the state, saying “do not be distracted by INEC. If they do not put us on the ballot, that election will be repeated. It will not be an election. But the Presidential is not in doubt. All states must put in their quota towards victory. That includes us too here in Rivers State.