Rivers stakeholders fault planned LGA polls, ask Tinubu to halt process

Stakeholders in Rivers have asked President Bola Tinubu to stop the planned LGA election in the state.

Late month, the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) scheduled August 30 for the LG polls in the south-south state.

In a joint statement issued on Thursday, the Rivers stakeholders said Ibok-Ete Ibas, sole administrator of the state, lacks the legitimacy to conduct LGA elections.

The Rivers indigenes expressed reservations over the composition of the RSIEC, saying it was illegally constituted.

The stakeholders said the sole administrator, appointed by the president, has no constitutional mandate to organise a LG poll, noting that his action “threatens the very foundations of our federal system, the rule of law, and the peace of Rivers state”.

“There is currently no legally constituted Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) as mandated by sections 2, 3, 5, and 12 of the Rivers state Independent Electoral Commission Law, 2018,” the statement reads.

“Consequently, any electoral activities undertaken by such an illegitimate body are null and void.

“Any appointment process outside this constitutional procedure is invalid and unconstitutional.”

The natives said the announcement of the election by RSIEC fell short of the notice period outlined in the Electoral Act 2022.

“With no formal notification for candidate nominations or polling timetables—and an election date of August 30, 2025, announced on short notice—this process resembles the 2024 polls, which the supreme court annulled due to procedural failures.

“Ignoring these safeguards is not an oversight; it is a deliberate attack on the principle of due process.”

“Third, courts across the land are actively adjudicating the legality of the sole administrator’s appointment and the very existence of a functioning RSIEC.

“Yet, despite pending supreme court and federal high court actions—and multiple sub judice challenges by political parties—electoral machinery grinds on under a so-called emergency guise.

“Fourth, Rivers state has been plunged into a constitutional crisis and a de facto state of emergency due to the federal suspension of its executive and legislative branches.

“If INEC deems by-elections untenable under such conditions, how can local government polls—unrelated to any genuine emergency- be justified?

“Fifth, section 7(1) of the 1999 constitution vests exclusive responsibility for local council elections in state governments. A federally appointed agent—lacking any legal foundation—cannot lawfully step into this role.”

The stakeholders called on Tinubu, the national assembly, and the judiciary to stop the planned election.

The statement was signed by Atedo Peterside, founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc; Tonye Cole, former All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Rivers; Uche Secondus, ex-national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); Abiye Sekibo, former director-general of the PDP presidential campaign council in Rivers; and Celestine Omehia, former governorship aspirant.

Others are Dakuku Peterside, former director general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Fafaa Princewill, Bekinbo Jack, Randolph Brown, Oji Ngofa, Austin Tam-George, Donu Kogbara, Sokonte Davies, Glory Emeh, George Feyii, Surv Sam Agwor, Ann-Kio Briggs, among others.

BACKGROUND

In February 2025, the supreme court nullified the LG election conducted in Rivers on October 5, 2024.

The apex court had held that there was no evidence to show that the conditions set out in section 150(3) of the Electoral Act were met before the RSIEC conducted the polls.

In March 2025, President Bola Tinubu suspended Siminalayi Fubara, the governor of Rivers, his deputy, and the legislative arm for six months over an alleged political crisis in the state.

The president then appointed Ibas as the sole administrator.