INEC announces two tentative dates for the conclusion of rerun legislative elections in Rivers State.

Our correspondent gathered from an informed source within the electoral commission that 20th and 27th August have been put forward for consideration.

Our source said the final decision would be made at the end of ongoing consultative meetings with stakeholders.

However, the issue of security remains a major concern for INEC, and would be given serious consideration in determining which date to chose.

In any case, our source is of the view that the reruns could be delayed further if there is no guarantee of security for voters and INEC officials who would be deployed on the fields on the day of the elections.

It has also been observed with security quarters and the electoral commission that the “Roadmap for Peace in Rivers State” which was initiated by the Director General of the Department of State Service and the Inspector General of Police, has not yielded the desired result.

You will recall that the initiative was kicked off with a meeting between Governor NYESOM WIKE and former governor and incumbent Minister of Transport, ROTIMI AMAECHI, with other principal political actors from Rivers State in attendance.

A second phase of the peace and security process was expected to feature a combined stakeholders meeting in Port Harcourt, to be jointly convened by Governor WIKE and ROTIMI AMAECHI, but that is yet to happen.

However; during an interactive session with a delegation of representatives of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Governor WIKE described the meeting with the DG, DSS and the IGP as a set up.

The Governor maintained that he was a peace-maker, but said he was not told that his invitation by the DSS was for a peace meeting.

WIKE said he decided to go alone because he was not told that the other people would be there.