Inec gives date for Rivers state guber poll

The Independent National Electoral Commission has fixed between April 2 and April 5 for the collation of results for Rivers governorship election .
The Commission has also released timelines for the conclusion of the state election suspended due to alleged violence.
INEC’ s National Commissioner , Information and Voter Education , Mr . Festus Okoye , disclosed this at a news conference on Thursday in Abuja .
Okoye said according to the timelines for the state election , an Inter -Agency Consultative Committee Election on Security meeting will hold on March 29 in the state.
This, according to him , would be followed by stakeholders ’ meeting on March 30 in Port Harcourt , and the issuance of guidelines for resumption of collation of results from INEC headquarters , Abuja .
Okoye added that there would also be re -validation of polling agents and observers for collation of results between March 25 and March 31 in Rivers and Abuja simultaneously.
“ Thereafter, there will be resumption of collation and announcement of result and this will take place between April 2 and April 5 and it will take place in Port Harcourt .
“ The venue for this particular activity will be agreed upon within the Commission and the critical stakeholders in the electoral process .
“ Then on April 13, there will be supplementary election where necessary . Thereafter, there will be an announcement of all results between April 13 and April 15, ” he said .
Okoye added that April 19 has been fixed for the issuance of all outstanding Certificates of Return in relation to the election .
On supplementary elections , Okoye said that the election scheduled for Saturday , March 23, would take place in 18 states .
“ Some of you are already aware that the Commission has conducted election in 29 states and returns have been made in 22 of those states .
“ While the election was suspended in Rivers , it was declared inconclusive in six states : Bauchi , Adamawa , Benue, Plateau , Sokoto and Kano, ’’ he said .
The national commissioner , while appealing for stakeholders’ support, urged all registered voters in the affected areas where election would be conducted, to go out and cast their votes .