The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has kicked off its campaigns for the August 30, 2025 local government elections.
The party’s state chairman, Chief Tony Okocha, led the flag-off ceremony, where flags were issued to the party’s chairmanship and councillorship candidates.
Addressing a crowd drawn from all Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state, Chief Okocha reiterated the party’s commitment to winning the 23 chairmanship and councillorship positions, including the 319 wards of the state.
He applauded party members for their solidarity in lifting the APC into its pride of place in Rivers politics.
The APC state chairman charged party members to take the campaigns to the nooks and crannies of the state, mobilizing support for the party’s candidates. He expressed confidence in the party’s ability to win the elections, citing the party’s strong grassroots support.
The APC’s campaigns will target all 319 wards in the state, with the party’s candidates expected to engage with voters and articulate their vision for the LGAs. The party’s chairmanship and councillorship candidates have been issued flags, symbolizing the start of their campaigns.
He said, “What we are doing (today) is a ritual because every system has its processes.
“A lot of you have been itching to go to the field and begin to campaign. Now, as soon as this is consummated, you are free to go to all the nooks and crannies of the 23 local government areas and the 319 walls and campaign.
Okocha, who had at the RSIEC stakeholders meeting earlier in the month insisted APC would participate in the council polls, repeated his position stating that the local council polls conducted on October 5, 2024 was flawed.
He told the gathering on Thursday that, “You will recall that some time ago, there was something that was a charade. APC said we were not going to participate, and we didn’t participate. We assured them that it will go to no issue. It will not work. Did it work? No!
“Today, we are bold, we are happy, we are excited to stand before you to tell you that because the processes are right, the processes put in place by RISEC are right. We are here to support, to follow those processes. Our people have been screened, our people have been declared candidates as chairmen and the councillors.
“Let me seize this opportunity again to congratulate my friends, the chairmen-elect and their deputies. I also congratulate the councillors-elect and their deputies. The primaries were seamless. You didn’t hear anybody fight? Because we are an organized political party, we are saying to you, that everything is put in place.
“Now, we are not just going to test the waters. APC, we are not going to test the waters on the 30th of August. We are going to contest elections and win the elections. We are going there to contest this election to win the twenty-three local government areas and to win the 319 wards in Rivers State,” Okocha said.
Also speaking, Magnus Ngei Abe, the senator formerly representing Rivers South East, who also represented Victory Giadom, APC’s National Vice Chairman (South South), noted the unity and cohesion which had been achieved in the party under the leadership of Tony Okocha.
He asserted that any other person claiming to be leader of the party in the state is doing so illegally.
Abe said, “Rivers State is united. We are coming together as one, and everybody who has the interest of River State is on board. Anybody who is not on board, going around the television stations to declare themselves as leaders of this party are wasting their time.
“We are together and we are moving. Everybody in Rivers State is welcome to join the APC. Let us work together with the current chairman to deliver the dividends of democracy to the grassroots,” he said.
Meanwhile, Maureen Tamuno, former Nigerian High Commissioner to Jamaica, Belize Haiti and the Dominican Republic, has hailed the push to integrate women into political and governance structures.
She said, “the women of Rivers State are united in one voice. We are committed to the fear of God that has brought about the unity and the peace that we enjoy today in Rivers State.
“We want to assure you that as women, that are grassroots-rooted, when it is time, we will definitely deliver the dividends of democracy. So that at the end of the day, River State will begin to enjoy the Renewed Hope of Mr President,” she said.
