The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) on Sunday announced results of Saturday’s local government elections, declaring the All Progressives Congress (APC) winners in 20 of the state’s 23 councils, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secured victories in Port Harcourt City, Obio/Akpor and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni.
The elections, which were boycotted by opposition parties, witnessed low voter turnout, with many of those who participated identified as party loyalists. Prominent winners include Dr. Chidi Lloyd (Emohua), Chief Obarilomate Ollorma (Eleme), and Mr. Allwell Ihunda (Port Harcourt City).
Suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, who is expected to return to office when the state of emergency ends on September 18, did not vote at his Opobo polling unit in Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area.
Although polling was largely peaceful, results were not declared at the unit or ward levels. Instead, figures were collated at local government centres under the supervision of party leaders and later transmitted to Port Harcourt for official announcement.
Stakeholders and civil society groups criticized the exercise, arguing that it fell short of provisions of the Electoral Act, the Rivers State electoral law, and a recent Supreme Court ruling mandating a 90-day notice before local polls. Former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chibudom Nwuche, however, defended the process, attributing the abridged timetable to the state of emergency.
Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, whose supporters dominated the poll, hailed the election as peaceful and said it cleared the way for the restoration of full democratic governance in Rivers once emergency rule lapses. “By September 18, the state governor and assembly will resume their duties, and we will have grassroots government in place,” he told reporters after casting his ballot in Rumuepirikom.
State Administrator, Vice Admiral (Rtd.) Ibok-Ete Ibas, who monitored voting in several LGAs, also praised the conduct of the election. He said the absence of violence and the orderly behaviour of voters were signs that Rivers people were eager to reclaim local governance. “Facilitating this foundational tier of democracy is a core objective of my mandate,” he noted.
RSIEC’s declared results showed sweeping APC victories across most councils, including Khana (156,027 votes for APC’s Bariere Thomas), Oyigbo (101,495 for Okechukwu Akara), and Emohua (114,380 for Chidi Lloyd). PDP won emphatically in Obio/Akpor, where its candidate Gift Worlu polled 328,823 votes.
Elder Oraye St. Franklyn, a political commentator, urged citizens to take future elections more seriously, warning that silence at the ballot “leaves others to decide your future.”
Saturday’s exercise was the second attempt at council polls this year after the Supreme Court annulled an earlier RSIEC election. It also comes six months after President Bola Tinubu imposed emergency rule in Rivers, suspending Governor Fubara, his deputy, and the House of Assembly amid a power struggle with Wike.
