The Head of Mission for the Rivers Local Government Polls Observation, Dr Gabriel Nwambu, has praised the conduct of security agents and voters during the Saturday local government elections in Rivers, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported on Sunday.

In a statement released on Sunday, Nwambu revealed that the mission deployed 330 observers across all 23 local government areas, reporting no incidents of intimidation, thuggery, violence, or vote-buying.

He highlighted the pivotal role of the police, the lead agency responsible for internal security and the democratic process, affirming that they were “on top of the game.”

Nwambu noted that checkpoints were manned by a well-trained and thoroughly briefed joint task force, comprising multiple law enforcement agencies, including the military.

He commended the officers for strictly adhering to the rules of engagement, describing this election as one of the best in recent times concerning the performance of law enforcement agencies.

“They did not brutalise anybody. Unlike in the past, when you would introduce yourself as an election observer, they would pretend as if they were not even hearing you. This time, they were even ready to assist you to cross and go your way, provided you conduct yourself in a peaceful manner. So, I think the security situation here in Rivers is excellent,” he said.

Nwambu said that the mission observed a high compliance level in terms of restriction of movement, saying young adults were seen playing soccer on the desolate streets.

He said that the electorates were happy as they came out en masse to exercise their franchise, which was long overdue.

The chief observer also commended INEC for a well-organised election, saying that there had been no major complaints against the electoral umpire.

He said that the election began at about 8:30 a.m. in most of the polling units except a few areas where it commenced at about 9:30 am.

“We would recommend this pattern of election for Nigeria any day, any time, because of the peaceful disposition of both the electorate, the peaceful disposition of the candidates themselves, and then the peaceful disposition of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission.

“So far, they have demonstrated capacity and competence in terms of the level of preparedness and dispensation of the electoral mandates. What is happening is the supremacy and predominance of the rule of law; we see a demonstration, the people’s zeal to participate.

“In previous elections, there was very high voter apathy, where people were not interested in voting. But this time, people participated, and there was no single atom of vote-buying recorded anywhere in the 23 local government areas where we deployed resources,” he said.