There was heavy jubilation in Rivers following Nyesom Wike’s chairmen’s defeat in all the Local Government Area elections held on Saturday, October 5, 2024......See Full Story>>.....See Full Story>>
In a bid to taunt Wike, the former Governor of Rivers, took to the streets, marching and singing in excitement over Fubara’s victory.
After the polls, the Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress factions rejected the conduct and outcome of the local government election, stating that no election was held in the state.
The Rivers PDP, loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, also vowed to challenge the outcome in court, claiming the poll was futile.
Wike’s camp made this known as the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, swore in the newly elected council chairmen of the 23 local government areas of the state.
The council election was won by the Action Peoples Party, which secured 22 out of 23 chairmanship positions, while the Action Alliance candidate won one seat.
The APP also won 314 out of the 319 councillorship seats in the 23 LGAs in the state.
The power struggle between Fubara and his predecessor, Wike, continued during the LGA election. After losing control of the PDP to Wike, Fubara’s supporters switched to the APP, securing chairmanship positions in their local government areas.
Fubara, speaking to the election winners, said the state has now entered a season of transformation where democracy would not only thrive but the people would witness the delivery of democratic dividends that satisfy their aspirations.
He acknowledged the support of Rivers people in the fight to salvage the local government system, stating that, “it was at the precipice of doom because of the activities of some distractive political forces that wanted a grip on it.’’
“But the truth remains, desperate situations require desperate measures. We were confronted with a situation where the local governments of this state was heading for doom.
“And the truth about it is, because of the genuine love that we have for this state, we must salvage the local government election. And what we did, with the support of Rivers people, was to salvage the local government council. And to the glory of God, that has been done and dusted.”
The governor further said that his administration would not engage in undemocratic actions to confront or fight anybody but foster peace to protect the state’s assets.