Fubara regains control as APP wins 22 out of 23 chairmanship seats in Rivers

Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has regained control of the Local Government structure as his loyalists who contested elections under the Action Peoples Party (APP) have won all but one of the 23 chairmanship positions.

Chief Election Officer of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, Justice Adolphus Enebeli, declared the result in Port Harcourt, the state capital, on Saturday night.

Wike had temporarily taken control of the local government structure after his loyalists emerged winners of the disputed Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) congress which held last month.

However, not giving up the battle, Fubara directed his loyalists to defect to APP to contest the election.

Apparently realising the influence of state government on LG elections and their outcome, Wike’s men had pulled out of the exercise, which was challenged in court, but Fubara vowed to go ahead.

The election held amid rancour and pockets of violence following withdrawal of the police to provide security.

Enebili said the announcement of Etche, the only Local Government Area where chairmanship result has not been declared, would be made later.

Meanwhile, the PDP and All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers have cautioned against the declaration of results of the LG elections.

At a separate press conference on Saturday, Victor Giadom, APC chairman in the South-South, said the party boycotted the election because of discrepancies with the existing laws.

“The entire process of the local government election in Rivers state is in conflict with the laws of the land —If the process is done according to law, my party will participate in the election,” he said.

Tony Okocha, former Chairman of the APC Caretaker Committee in Rivers, also warned against declaring the results.

“We are amused that even after the receipt of the judgment, Governor Siminalayi Fubara broke into the gates of RSIEC and chased away police officers deployed in RSIEC to ensure compliance of the judgment,” Okocha said.

“We caution against any announcement or any attempt to announce fictitious individuals as elected chairmen in the local government area.

“Doing so is a clear-cut recipe for chaos and unrest. The governor’s attempts to enthrone his proteges into the councils will not work.”

On his part, Aaron Chukwuemeka, Rivers PDP chairman, said announcement of the results could incite violence.

“We can’t support or promote lawlessness or impunity in any form whatsoever, even though we are the ruling party in Rivers state.”

“The proper court judgments must be obeyed as we cannot choose or pick which order of court to obey or not to obey.

“We want to caution that any attempt to announce any result whatsoever will be an invitation to violence and will be properly resisted as no election held in the Rivers state on the 5th of October 2024 as ordered by the courts,” he said.

Earlier, Wike supporters had protested against the election which they declared as illegal.