The Rivers State capital has not been left out of last-minute preparations for the 2015 presidential election. Just a few hours to the epochal event, security is evidence in every nook and cranny of the state capital Port Harcourt.
While this mounting security is noticeable from Lagos down to Port Harcourt, the frequency of the presence of soldiers, police and members of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, at major junctions and election-related buildings rises as one goes deeper into the port city.
Campaigns have since stopped in the state. Even radio stations are now in the habit of warning their callers not to campaign or solicit votes when they call.
At the INEC head office, TELL observed the movement of voting materials escorted by battle-ready mobile policemen. This however did not deter some persons yesterday from firing shots at Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s convoy.
Indeed in Rivers, there is palpable fear of electoral violence. For instance, the speed with which both armed officers and ordinary citizens, including journalists, rushed out of INEC premises on Aba Road, on hearing the sound of a burst car tyre, on Friday, only confirmed the pervading fear in the land ahead of Saturday’s polls.
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