The local government elections held across Rivers State’s 23 local government areas and 319 wards on Saturday were marked by the conspicuous absence of suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his key supporters, highlighting persistent political undercurrents despite recent reconciliation efforts.
The elections, aimed at restoring democratic governance at the grassroots, proceeded peacefully but faced challenges, including low voter turnout and logistical hiccups, as the state anticipates the end of its six-month emergency rule.
In Fubara’s hometown of Opobo in Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, voting occurred on a limited scale, with electoral materials arriving at his polling unit in Ward 5 around 11 a.m.
Expectations were high that Fubara, who recently reconciled with his political godfather, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike, would participate in the polls to signal unity. However, by the time voting concluded around 3:30 p.m., Fubara had not appeared to cast his vote.
A source close to Sunday PUNCH disclosed that the suspended governor was not in Rivers State, with unconfirmed reports suggesting he was in London and had not returned for the election.
Fubara’s absence was mirrored by his loyalists, including prominent figures such as the Chief of Staff to the Government House, Edison Ehie, the Secretary to the Government, Dr. Tammy Danagogo, and the 23 local government chairmen sacked following a Supreme Court ruling that nullified the October 2023 local government election conducted under Fubara’s administration. Members of the Simplified Movement, a socio-political group aligned with Fubara, were also notably absent from polling centers, suggesting a deliberate boycott of the electoral process.
This absence underscored the lingering rift between Fubara’s camp and the political structure led by Wike, despite a reconciliation meeting brokered by President Bola Tinubu in June 2025 at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The elections were conducted under the supervision of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), led by Sole Administrator Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas (retd.), who was appointed following President Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency on March 18, 2025.
The emergency rule, prompted by a protracted political crisis between Fubara and Wike over control of the state’s political machinery, resulted in the suspension of Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for an initial six-month period. The decision drew widespread criticism from legal practitioners, politicians, and civil society groups, who argued it undermined democratic principles.
To stabilise the state, Tinubu appointed Ibas to oversee its affairs, a move that included dissolving political structures, including commissions, boards, and the previously elected local government councils.
Speaking to journalists after casting his vote at Polling Unit 007, Ward 9, Rumueprikom in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Wike hailed the elections as a critical step toward restoring democratic governance.
“As far as we are concerned, this election is peaceful. People are trooping out, and at the end of the day, the election has been conducted successfully and peacefully,” he said.
Wike expressed confidence that the state of emergency would expire on September 18, 2025, allowing Fubara, Odu, and the state assembly to resume their duties.
“I do know that by September 18, the state of emergency will expire, and the state assembly will come back to their job, and we will have a government at the grassroots level,” he added.
Wike emphasised that the successful conduct of the elections, which complied with a Supreme Court ruling mandating democratically elected local governments, cleared the path for lifting the emergency rule.
“The coast is clear for the state of emergency to be lifted, being that the state government has its representative and the local government has its representatives, so we are good to go,” he stated.
He noted that the polls were essential to ensure financial autonomy for local councils, as the Supreme Court had ruled that only democratically elected councils could access funds from the Federation Account.
Despite Wike’s optimism, the elections faced challenges. Voter turnout was notably low in urban centers like Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor, with Wike attributing this to traders prioritising economic activities.
Rural areas, however, saw stronger participation. Logistical issues, including delays in the distribution of electoral materials to registration area centers and the absence of original result sheets in some units, such as in Opobo/Nkoro, marred the process.