The suspended Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, and his loyalists were conspicuously absent from Saturday’s election for chairman and councillor positions in the state.
Fubara was not seen in the Opobo Local Government Area, where he is from, even though the election was held on a limited scale.
According to sources, the governor was not in the state.
Some major supporters of the suspended governor, including the Chief of Staff of the Government House, Edison Ehie; the Secretary to the Government, Dr Tammy Danagogo; and the expelled 23 local government chairmen, did not attend the poll.
Members of the Simplified Movement, a socio-political movement loyal to Fubara, were also not visible near the voting stations.
When electoral materials arrived at Fubara’s unit in Ward 5, Opobo, in the Opobo/Nkoro LGA around 11 a.m., there were assurances that the embattled governor, who had recently mended fences with his political godfather, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesome Wike, would vote.
However, Fubara did not show up to fulfil his constitutional responsibility until voting in the area ended about 3:30pm.
As of the time of filing this report, it was learnt that the suspended governor, who is due to be recalled to office on September 18, has not returned to his hometown of Opobo for the poll.
According to a source, Fubara flew to London and did not return before the scheduled election.
On March 18, President Bola Tinubu imposed a state of emergency in Rivers State following a protracted political standoff between Fubara and Wike, who had the support of the majority of state MPs.
After declaring an emergency, Tinubu suspended Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for six months.
He also selected Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas (retd.) as the only administrator to supervise the state’s activities.
Tinubu’s judgement provoked fury throughout the country, with legal professionals, lawmakers, and civil society organisations criticising it.
Wike and Fubara eventually reconciled and reached an agreement, which included a rerun of the local government election previously won by the latter’s supporters.
Prior to the council election, the RSIEC released the final list of political parties and candidates cleared to run in the local government elections, which included the PDP, the All Progressives Congress, the Labour Party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance, the Zenith Party, the Accord Party, the African Action Congress, the Action People’s Party, and the Social Democratic Party, among others.
The list revealed that the PDP fielded only three chairmanship candidates, while the APC fielded 20 across the state’s 23 LGAs.
Wike’s political organisation in the state, now known as the Renewed Hope Agenda, expressed satisfaction with the process and confidence in winning.
It was gathered that 20 of the seats were given to the APC, under the leadership of Chief Tony Okocha, while three of the seats were given to the PDP to produce chairmen.
According to a source, it was specifically mentioned that the three seats for the PDP were Obio/Akpor, the LGA of the FCT Minister, Port Harcourt City, and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGAs.
