Rivers: APC declares stand as Fubara takes full control of LG structure

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The political crisis that is now roiling Rivers State appears to have no end in sight.

This is because it appears that further problems have been brought on in the state by the local government election that the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, or RSIEC, held.

ZINGTIE reports that despite opposition from the loyalists of Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, the election was conducted on Saturday as directed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

Citing a ruling by the Federal High Court in Abuja, Wike’s supporters in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a section of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have sworn to boycott the poll.

According to ZINGTIE, the Federal High Court in Abuja’s Justice Peter Lifu ruled in a decision that RSIEC had broken necessary rules by failing to publish the required 90-day notice prior to setting the election date.

Therefore, the voter roll could not be released by the Independent National Electoral Commission to RSIEC for the purpose of conducting the election, as ordered by the court.

Additionally, Justice Lifu disallowed the Department of State Service, or DSS, and the Inspector General of Police from handling poll security.

The ruling came after the state chapter of the APC filed a lawsuit against the court, criticising RSIEC’s decision to reschedule the polls to October 5.

No going back on election

Even after the court ruled that the security agencies could not take part in the election, Governor Fubara insisted that the election would go on as scheduled.

Last week, the governor’s attitude caused a commotion in the political arena as certain players attacked him, while others—such as former vice president Atiku Abubakar—threw their support behind him.

Similarly, RSIEC ignored the legal barriers and stated it was ready to conduct the election, claiming to have access to the voters’ registry, contrary to INEC’s position.

LG polls tarnished by thugs

The actions of a few armed men who were allegedly political thugs ruined the poll in some areas.

ZINGTIE remembers that just hours before the voting began, suspected arsonists in Port Harcourt detonated explosives at the APC secretariat, demolishing portions of the building.

Chief Tony Okocha, the head of the main opposition party’s state caretaker committee, charged that Governor Fubara’s supporters of carrying out the heinous attack.

Similar to this, the FCT Minister’s residence in Rumuepirikom Community, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state, was the scene of numerous gunshots throughout the exercise, despite the fact that it was proceeding quietly in many other locations.

ZINGTIE discovered that a few unknown individuals had infiltrated the community prior to the voting and advised everyone to stay indoors.

But just as the electoral officers were about to arrive at the ward in the LGA, armed individuals who appeared to be political thugs broke into the area and opened fire, frightening off voters who were planning to cast ballots.

at a related development, two individuals were shot at the Igwuruta community in the state’s Ikwerre LGA after some young people who were supposedly Wike supporters moved to impose the High Court Judgement.

Local Government structure is reclaimed by Governor Fubara.

Alleged action taken by Wike to seize control of Rivers State’s political system following his eight years as governor, which gave rise to the ongoing conflict roiling the state.

In an attempt to keep the system in place, the Wike-supporting legislators from Rivers State sought to prolong the terms of the outgoing LG Chairmen by six months; however, Fubara dismissed them.

The governor then nominated caretaker chairman for each of the state’s 23 local government districts on June 19, 2024.

Under the leadership of factional Speaker Victor Jumbo, the state House of Assembly expeditiously vetted and verified the nominees.

Because of Wike’s significant influence in the PDP, Governor Fubara instructed his supporters to run for office on the platform of the Action Peoples Party, or APP, ahead of the election on Saturday.

Retired Justice Adolphus Enebeli, Chief poll Officer of the RSIEC, announced the poll results on Saturday night, stating that the APP had won the chairperson seats in 22 of the 23 LGAs.

This made it quite evident that, in advance of the upcoming elections, Governor Fabara had taken back control of the LG structure.

No election was held in Rivers – APC insists

But the APC insisted that there had never been an election in the state on Saturday night, trashing both the poll and its results.

Ikenga Chibike, the publicity secretary for the APC in Rivers State, informed ZINGTIE that the ruling of the Federal High Court stands, describing the just concluded election as a mirage, saying it was a “cooked-up result”.

“As far as APC is concerned in Rivers State, there was no election on Saturday, so if anybody is announcing anything, it is a cooked up result.

“The law remains the law. It says that if RSIEC must conduct a proper election, it must follow the due process,” he declared.

He said the party decided to boycott the election to “obey the judgement from the Federal High Court which barred the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC, the Nigeria Police, the Department of State Services, DSS, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from going ahead with the election.

“The court had also declared that every action taken prior to this time is null and void. We are standing with that judgement so we did not participate,” he stated.

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