Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has lamented that he is the greatest loser in the October 5 local government election in the state since members of his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were not participating in the polls. Fubara stated this on Thursday while addressing Rivers Political Stakeholders at Government House, Port Harcourt, ahead of the election.
But PDP members loyal to Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, protested on major streets of Port Harcourt on Thursday, declaring their opposition and non-participation in the polls slated to hold in 319 wards in the 23 local government areas of the state.
Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) said it will not allow any individual or group to disrupt the council poll.
Fubara stated that his administration was determined to support the cause of sustainable democracy. He warned that he will not tolerate any misguided group or individual attempting to create confusion or any form of instability in the state.
Addressing the stakeholders, the governor said, “You know this election, I am the greatest loser because my party is not participating. It is the truth! But because of the Supreme Court ruling that there must be elected officials to manage the affairs of local governments, as a governor, I have to obey that.
“It did not end there. The president, after the Supreme Court ruling, invited us and we had an understanding that we have a compliance duration of 90 days. So what we are doing here is to make sure that even if my party is not participating, the local council process must stand for Rivers State.
“And a good number of you here are my party faithful and you are not even benefiting from it, and you are here supporting us. So, what is the problem?
“I want to thank everyone of you for being very peaceful. You see, I didn’t make any mistake when I said we need to follow this struggle with a different tactic. If you have very special egg that you are carrying, and somebody is coming to fight you, do you need to fight the person?
“Won’t you use your two hands to grab the basket of the egg? Even if the person is chasing you, if you run and hit your foot and the basket of egg falls, who is going to lose, is it not you? You can see why we are very careful, and we are following this course with AI.”
He added, “Secondly, I want to assure you that the local government election is about the state. I might not be a lawyer but at least, I understand that it is a state matter.
“Thirdly, from the beginning of this process to the end, it is within the purview of the state. It has nothing to do with any federal judicial institution to disrupt it. So we should understand this fact and play according to the rule.”
But members of the party loyal to Wike, on Thursday, mobilised their supporters across the 319 wards of the 23 local government areas of the state to hold a peaceful protest. They called on the police to ensure the enforcement of the order allegedly barring the conduct of the election.
THISDAY observed that the protest was led by prominent politicians of the state from Abuja, including Minority Leader, House of Representatives, Kingsley Chinda; and Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Host Committees, Dumnamene Dekor.
Others were Director General, National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Emeka Beke; representative of Etche/Omuma Federal Constituency, Kelechi Nworgu; former House of Representatives member, Emma Deeyah, Felix Nwaeke, and former state PDP chairman, Desmond Akawor.
Also sighted among the protesters were former local government chairmen, including Chidi Lloyd (Emohua), Erastus Awortu (Andoni), Obarillomate Ollor (Eleme), Hope Ikiriko (Ahoada West), George Ariolu (Obio/Akpor) others.
The protesters, who defied the early morning downpour, marched from the PDP secretariat on Aba Road, through the office of the Department of Security Services (DSS) to the state police headquarters on Moscow Road.
Addressing party supporters at the DSS office, where they submitted their protest letter, the PDP state chairman, Chukwuemeka Aaron, said the party, as a law abiding party, had complied with the judgement of Justice Lifu by opting out of the election. Aaron called on the security agency to prevail on the government to comply with the judgement. At the police headquarters, Aaron stated the reason for the protest.
“We are here to submit a petition to you from Peoples Democratic Party, being led by me. Attached to this letter is an order of court, is a judgement of Federal High Court of September 30, 2024,” he said.
Meanwhile, President of IYC, Dr. Theophilus Alaye, while addressing a press conference in Port Harcourt, said periodic elections were tools and democratic processes in any liberal democracy to elect leaders from the federal to the state levels.
Alaye stated that it was in compliance with this democratic tradition of allowing the people to elect those to govern at the grassroots that Fubara decided to start the process earlier this year that would eventually culminate in the conduct of local government elections on Saturday.
Alaye stressed that the importance of electing chairmen and councillors to man the local government councils could not be overemphasised. He said over 10 governors had conducted their state local government elections peacefully, and wondered why Rivers State was different.
In a related development, a member of the House of Representatives, Ikenga Ugochinyere, on Thursday, told the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Rivers State, Johnson Alalibo, to stop wasting his time because the council election would be held.
Alalibo had said Rivers State had not received voter registration materials for the local government election. Speaking on Wednesday at a press conference in Port Harcourt, Alalibo said although RSIEC had applied for the register, it had not yet been made available to them due to administrative factors.
However, in response to the REC, on his X handle, Ugochinyere stated that the state electoral body currently possessed the INEC voter registration.
He stated, “The INEC REC in Rivers State, Dr. Johnson Alalibo Sinikiem, was speaking for pro Wike group and seems not to know where his work ends as an INEC official, who has no business with state-organised elections.
“INEC voters official register that is long in the custody of Rivers State electoral body officially, you are just waking up at this last minute to issue a baseless statement for a group that has been dislodged.
“Stop wasting your time. Election will hold on Saturday.”
Chuks Okocha, Adedayo Akinwale and Blessing Ibunge
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