The governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara and Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been involved in a political fight since 2023. Now, the fight has hit a climax that can either stop the Rivers local government election from holding or lead to a major inconvenience for the people of Port Harcourt.
What is the link between Wike, Fubara and Rivers local government election?
Wike, Fubara’s political godfather, was the governor of Rivers State between 2015 to 2023. Fubara, the estranged political godson, has been serving as the governor of Rivers State since 29 May 2023.
Wike claims that he laboured and sacrificed to help Fubara become the governor of Rivers State and without his help, Fubara could not have been elected. This claim alone makes the votes of Rivers state people and Nigerian democracy look like a dry joke but Wike said what he said. A claim like that comes with a sense of entitlement and Wike has shown a lot since the governor got into office. Fubara’s refusal to dance to the tunes of the former governor has led to a political war between the two.
The power play between them has split the state house assembly into two factions, with one faction showing loyalty to Fubara and the other to Wike. In December, some of the commissioners under Fubara’s administration resigned, with one of them being a man who served as Wike’s chief of staff for 8 years. This suggests that these commissioners were imposed on Fubara by Wike, a subtle way of saying “I put you in power, now I’ll tell you how to rule.”
When it comes to the Port Harcourt election, it is the same power play that’s at work. If you’re not familiar with Nigerian politics, you might be wondering why these grown men are being so dramatic about a local government election but there is a catch and the catch is that whoever controls power at the grassroots level pretty much has a strong hold on the entire state. Fubara has somehow managed to get rid of some of Wike’s preferred commissioners and refused to be his yes-boy so this is another opportunity for Wike to show that he’s still the one in charge of Rivers’ state affairs this is also Fubara’s chance to gain power over his state and function as the governor he is.
Why the Rivers LG election might not hold
On Thursday, October 3, the Rivers police said their officers won’t provide security for the local government election in the state which was announced in July and is supposed to be held today, October 5. According to the police, it’s not personal, they’re just following court orders.
On September 30, a federal high court in Abuja stopped INEC from handing over the 2023 voter register to the Rivers State election commission (RSIEC). By October 2, INEC confirmed it hadn’t given the voter register to RSIEC, following the court’s order.
The court also told the inspector-general of police and Department of State Services (DSS) not to provide security for the election.
On October 3, a crowd gathered at the PDP office in Port Harcourt to protest against the upcoming local government election.
But Fubara has shown that he has coconut head and the only way to stop the Rivers LG election from holding is to shoot him.
If you’re thinking “Does the court have the right to give that kind of order?”, it does. Under the Nigerian Constitution, the Federal High Court can call that kind of shot if it believes there is a violation of the law or constitutional rights. In this case, what the court is banking on is the fact that “RSIEC didn’t follow important rules in the electoral law, like giving a 90-day notice before announcing an election date.”
But Fubara does not care
Fubara and his supporters believe that Wike is behind all the plots targeted at making sure the Rivers LG election doesn’t hold today. If the plan was to scare or intimidate Fubara, it failed. After policemen allegedly raided RSIEC’s office on Friday to take electoral materials, Fubara said he won’t let Rivers State fall into chaos and insisted the election will still happen today.
What’s the latest news on the Rivers local government election?
RSIEC is going ahead with the election as planned. Both important and regular election materials have arrived at some centres, including the Government Technical College in Ahoada East. This is still a developing story.
