Today, Saturday, the people of Rivers State came out to vote in the election of chairmen for the state’s 23 local government areas.
The oil-rich state has 6,866 polling units across 319 wards where voters will elect replacements for the chairmen earlier removed by the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
About six months ago, the Supreme Court nullified the local government elections conducted on October 5, 2024, by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).
That election drew much attention because Nigeria’s Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and former governor of Rivers, Nyesom Wike, clashed with the suspended state governor, Sim Fubara. At the time, Governor Fubara fielded candidates under the APP party, who eventually won 22 out of the 23 local governments—a development that Wike’s camp strongly opposed.
It was Wike’s faction that filed a suit challenging the election, leading to a series of legal battles up to the Supreme Court, which later nullified the exercise.
In the current election, indications show that there is an arrangement between the two major parties—APC and PDP. The PDP fielded only three candidates: Dr. Gift Worlu for Obio/Akpor, Allwell Ihunda for Port Harcourt City, and Chukwu Ogbogu for Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni.
Meanwhile, APC is contesting in the remaining 20 local government areas, even though some smaller parties are also participating.
The state is still under interim administration after President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency due to the political crises that have engulfed Rivers.
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