Politics

Rivers LG poll – Atiku demands annulment as Wike reasserts control

Published

9 months ago

September 1, 2025

The political power dynamics in Rivers State once again changed with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, regaining his grip and control of the state’s political grassroots, which his successor and estranged political godson, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, temporarily dispossessed him of in the last two years.

The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission on Sunday declared the results of the August 30 local government elections, with the All Progressives Congress, the main opposition party in the state, winning 20 of the 23 LGs while the ruling Peoples Democratic Party won the remaining three LGs.

The local government areas won by the APC are Obio/Akpor, which is that of the FCT minister, Port Harcourt City LGA and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni.

Governor Siminalayi Fubara lost his LGA, Opobo-Nkoro, to the main opposition party in the state.

Both the APC and PDP winners are Wike’s loyalists.

According to the results released by RSIEC on Sunday, APC’s Ofori Owolabi won the Abua/Odual LGA chairmanship seat. In Ahoada East, APC’s Solomon Achoma won.

Other APC winners are Eugene Cheta (Ahoada West); Bob Fubarab (Akuku Toru); Otua Promise (Andoni); George Onengiyeofori (Asari Toru); Pepple Blessing (Bonny LGA); Michael Williams (Degema); and Obarilomate Ollor (Eleme LGA); Lloyd Julius (Emohua).

Other APC winners are Njoku Chima (Etche); Confidence Deko (Gokana); Wobodo Charles (Ikwerre); Thomas Bariere (Khana); Dr. Gift Wodo (Obio/Akpor); Akuro Tobin (Okrika); Obasi Uchechukwu (Omuma); James A. James (Opobo/Nkoro); Okechukwu Nwogu (Oyigbo); and Okwe Mbakpone (Tai LGA – APC).

The three PDP winners are Chukwu Ogbodo (Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni); Vincent Nimieboka (Ogu/Bolo LGA); and Sir Allwell Ihunda (Port Harcourt).

Atiku faults poll

However, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar described the Rivers State LG poll and its outcome as “an awful absurdity and a travesty to the very notion of elective democracy.”

In a post on X on Sunday, Atiku criticised the administration of President Bola Tinubu over the manner the elections were conducted.

“By the shameful and shambolic manner in which the occupation government went ahead to conduct local government elections in Rivers State, it is clear that the ruling APC party is not leaving anyone in doubt that it is prepared to throw caution to the wind to achieve an inordinate political advantage,” he said.

He called on Nigerians, the international community, and partners of the country to pay attention to what he described as a “dangerous curve that the President Bola Tinubu regime is taking our dear country.”

Atiku also appealed to opposition parties in Rivers State to reject the elections.

“I will also call on all opposition parties in Rivers State to reject the local government election on the premise that the occupation government that conducted the exercise is extraneous to our laws, with absolutely no legitimacy to undertake such a crucial and sensitive assignment,” he stated.

Atiku concluded by expressing solidarity with the people of Rivers State, who he said are “currently victims of political brigandry to a power cabal which is bent on overturning their democratic rights at all costs.”

Wike, Fubara clash

The disagreement between Wike and Fubara dates back to September/October 2024, when the FCT minister got wind of a move allegedly by Fubara to remove Martin Amaewhule as Speaker of the state House of Assembly and replace him with his loyalist in a bid to assume control of the state legislature.

Hitherto, Wike had imposed most of his loyalists as commissioners in the new administration, a move that Fubara found offensive, but he stomached it until he gradually began stamping his authority with his own appointments, which irked his godfather.

The disagreement assumed a fever pitch, leading to the bombing of the House of Assembly complex by yet-to-be-identified persons.

Later, the majority of the lawmakers attempted to impeach Fubara, but he survived and later ordered the demolition of the House.

The Assembly became factionalised with the emergence of two Speakers, Amaewhule loyal to Wike, while Edison Ehie, a former House Leader, also claimed speakership as he was loyal to Fubara, leading to suspension and counter-suspension by the splinter groups.

Later, another loyalist of the governor, Victor Oko-Jumbo, emerged as Speaker of the House, leading a three-man squad of lawmakers, while Governor Fubara had appointed Ehie as his Chief of Staff after he resigned his membership of the House.

As the feud between Wike and his estranged political son festered, President Bola Tinubu intervened and invited the parties to Abuja, leading to an agreement that the President ordered, though neither of the parties fully adhered to the terms in the end.

The governor later continued to appoint more of his men to his cabinet and reassigning commissioners loyal to Wike, which caused many of them to tender their resignation notices.

Another attempt by Wike’s loyalists in the Assembly led to another round of crisis with a myriad of protests rocking the state, and more so, groups, the governor’s kinsmen and thereafter militants threatened to cause mayhem if Fubara was removed from office.

A State of Emergency was eventually declared in Rivers State by President Tinubu, who also suspended the governor, his Deputy, Prof. Ngobi Odu, and all members of the state House of Assembly following an attack on an oil facility linking the Trans Niger Pipeline, which conveys crude oil to the Bonny Terminal in Rivers State for export.

Tinubu, in his declaration of the emergency rule in the state, appointed ex-Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), as the Administrator of the state with the mandate to preside over affairs there for ‘An initial period of six months’, which comes to an end on September 18, 2025.

The emergency rule, however, favoured Wike as most of the appointments made by Ibas to date came from the Wike camp, though the FCT minister had said he would have preferred outright impeachment of the governor, saying Tinubu saved Fubara.

Ibas, on assumption of office, removed the Heads of Local Government Areas administration appointed by Fubara to oversee the affairs of the 23 LGAs of the state following the Supreme Court nullification of the LG elections conducted by RSIEC, then led by Retired Justice Adolphus Enebeli, whom Fubara appointed.

Among the agencies affected in Ibas’ shake-up was the RSIEC, wherein he appointed his kinsman, Dr Michael Odey, as the new Chairman, who conducted the just-concluded Chairmanship and Councillorship poll held on Saturday in the state.

Although all those who emerged winners in both the APC and PDP in the August 30 poll are believed to be major allies of the FCT minister and former governor of the state, Wike reportedly secured his own local council firmly for the PDP, while leaving the APC to sweep almost a clean sweep.

The RSIEC chairman, Dr Michael Odey, announced the results of the LG election at the commission’s headquarters on Aba Road in Port Harcourt on Sunday afternoon.

Odey stated, “Today marks an important milestone in the democratic process in Rivers State. Yesterday (Saturday), the people of Rivers State trooped out in their numbers to exercise their civic duty.

“It is now our responsibility as a commission and in line with the law to transparently and credibly present the outcome of their collective will.”

He commended all the stakeholders in the process—the candidates, the security agencies, the observers, the civil society organisations, and the media for their roles in having a peaceful and successful election in the state. According to him, “Indeed, the electorate themselves should be commended for their cooperation and commitment to a peaceful election process yesterday (Saturday).”

Odey proceeded to announce the results, disclosing only the names of the chairman-elect for each LGA and the number of votes garnered.

It is instructive to note that all the chairmen-elect in the 23 LGAs are males, while their vice-chairmen-elect are all females, as the parties adopted the political arrangement which Wike initiated for gender balancing when he held sway as governor of the oil-rich state.

Reacting to the election results, a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ogbonna Nwuke, said what happened in terms of the apathy that greeted the poll contradicted the results declared by RSIEC.

Nwuke, a former Commissioner for Information and Communications, who was later elected to represent Etche-Omuma Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, said, “What is critical is, frankly, how the voting took place. On the surface, it will be nice to say congratulations to the minister, who in so many ways talks about structure.

“If Rivers people actually turned it to vote in such numbers, then it means that Wike’s structure is solidly on the ground. But if the voting pattern indicates otherwise, it will mean that the minister himself must look again at Rivers people, why they voted the way they did, because that will be very instructive.”

On his part, an elder statesman and Convener of the Coalition of Rivers State Leaders of Thought, High Chief Sunnie Chukumele, said Wike’s hold on power “will be short-lived.”

According to him, “There was a Supreme Court judgement that stated that the same Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission did not abide by the stipulated electoral rule of engagement of 90 days’ notice. So, now it means that the law says that you cannot build something on nothing.

“There is a subsisting Supreme Court judgement that is less than one year old. What they have done is an aberration. It is contemptuous of the Supreme Court’s judgment. So it will not stand. It is as temporary as it will not last. So the Coalition of Rivers State Leaders of Thought is not in support of the charade that happened yesterday (Saturday).

“We disassociate ourselves from all that happened yesterday on behalf of Rivers people,” he stated.

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Politics

I am open to reconciling with Kano gov – Kwankwaso

Published

4 hours ago

June 9, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

Former Kano State Governor and national leader of the Kwankwasiyya movement, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, says he remains willing to forgive Governor Abba Yusuf and reconcile with him despite their political differences, insisting that his affection for his former protégé has not diminished.

Relationship between the two politicians soured after Yusuf defected from the New Nigeria People’s Party, under which he won the 2023 governorship election, to the ruling All Progressives Congress, a move that drew sharp criticism from members of the Kwankwasiyya movement.

Speaking in an interview in a video posted by BBC Hausa on Monday, Kwankwaso, who has also defected from NNPP to the Nigeria Democratic Congress, said the door to reconciliation remains open.

He stressed that Yusuf was the one who chose to leave their political fold and that he would not turn him away if he decided to return.

“I still love Abba and I didn’t reject him, he is the one that left. So not just Abba, if anyone who left comes back, I won’t be unforgiving. Look at Ganduje, in the many years we worked together, we fell out several times and got back together. That is how politics works,” he said.

Kwankwaso argued that Yusuf’s electoral victory was made possible by the strength of the movement.

“We picked Abba to contest under the NNPP and we won, but he left to join the people we defeated. Some say he did so because he feared losing his position, but he knows there was no way we would have been defeated in Kano. If that were the case, we would have lost when he contested under our party,” he stated.

The former governor further explained that the movement intentionally fielded Yusuf in 2023 to demonstrate its political influence.

“We did not choose him because he was the most senior or the most educated. We chose him because we wanted to test the strength and calibre of the Kwankwasiyya movement at that time,” he said.

Emphasising the importance of tolerance in leadership, Kwankwaso said leaders must accept differing opinions and embrace forgiveness.

“As a leader, you need to have an open heart. You cannot force people to think the way you do because we all come from different backgrounds and have different perspectives. Without forgiveness, we would not have come this far,” he added.

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Politics

Peter Obi slams Tinubu over rising debt, says N200tn borrowed without accountability

Published

5 hours ago

June 9, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

The 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration over what he described as excessive borrowing and poor fiscal accountability.

Obi said Nigeria’s total public debt has risen to about N200 trillion, which he attributed to what he called “imprudent governance” under the current administration.

He said the debt level represents an increase of over N100 trillion in three years, contrasting it with the approximately N49 trillion accumulated during the eight-year administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The former Labour Party presidential flagbearer in the 2023 election stated this in a statement posted on his X handle on Tuesday, saying the situation reflected a lack of accountability and transparency in the management of borrowed funds.

“President Bola Tinubu’s administration has engaged in remarkably imprudent borrowing, escalating Nigeria’s total debt to approximately N200 trillion. This represents an increase of over N100 trillion within a mere three years, a stark contrast to the roughly N49 trillion accumulated during President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure, which would have projected to around N80 trillion.

“As millions of Nigerians grapple with the shock of this unsustainable debt accumulation, the situation is exacerbated by the government’s reckless approach to borrowing and a profound absence of accountability and transparency in the utilisation of these funds,” he said.

Citing figures from the Budget Office, Obi said the government borrowed N11.89 trillion in the first three quarters of 2025 (January to September), exceeding its planned borrowing target of N10.34 trillion by about N1.54 trillion.

He said such an overrun should ordinarily attract scrutiny and explanation from relevant authorities.

“Under a responsible and accountable government, such an overshoot would necessitate rigorous scrutiny and explanation from relevant governmental bodies. Regrettably, this is not the reality under the current administration,” he said.

Obi further claimed that only N3.10 trillion of the borrowed funds was allocated to capital expenditure during the January–September 2025 period, representing 17.66 per cent of the N17.58 trillion earmarked for capital projects, leaving a funding gap of about N14.48 trillion.

He questioned how the remaining funds were utilised.

“The most disturbing aspect of the financial management fiasco under Bola Tinubu is that there is no explanation or information regarding how the balance was utilised or deployed.

“The question that Nigerians are rightly asking and deserve an answer to is what happened to the balance? Was it deployed for recurrent expenditure/consumption, for the entertainment of guests to Aso Rock or transferred to the Renewed Hope Agenda 2027 Election Campaign Fund?

“Nigerians deserve an answer on how our economy and resources are most unpatriotically managed,” he said.

Nigeria has faced mounting debt pressures since the Tinubu administration’s major reforms began in mid-2023, including the removal of long-standing fuel subsidies and unification of the foreign exchange market.

These moves aimed to correct fiscal distortions but triggered immediate inflation spikes, naira volatility, and higher living costs, while increasing the local-currency burden of debt servicing.

Tinubu had disclosed in May 2026 that Nigeria plans to spend about $11.6 billion on debt servicing in 2026.

While supporters of the government argue that borrowings support critical infrastructure, critics warn of a debt without growth trap.

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Politics

ADC alleges PVC mop-up, fake Amotekun plot

Published

14 hours ago

June 9, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Ekiti State, Dare Bejide, on Monday, alleged mop-up of Permanent Voter Cards in parts of the state by some agents who he said were illegally collecting the document.

The Director, Communications, Media and Publicity, Amb Dare Bejide Campaign Organisation, Chief Gboyega Aribisogan, said the perpetrators, who he identified as All Progressives Congress agents, wanted to use the cards for sinister purposes, as he appealed to residents not to succumb to such.

Aribisogan also alleged at a press briefing in Ado Ekiti that some political thugs were being kitted in fake Amotekun Security Network uniforms, adding that “the individuals are being trained and mobilised to intimidate voters, snatch ballot boxes and attack polling agents on election day.”

The ADC campaign spokesperson, who said the impersonation of Amotekun operatives was a deliberate plot to confuse voters and discredit a regional security outfit that Ekiti people trusted.

He called on the Ekiti Amotekun Corps Commander, Brig Gen Olu Adewa (retd) and the police “to immediately identify and arrest anyone found wearing an Amotekun uniform without authorisation.”

Aribisogan said, “Across several local government areas in Ekiti, our party has documented a pattern where agents and foot soldiers of the APC are moving from house to house and polling units demanding the collection of PVCs and National Identification Numbers from voters.

“They promised cash, food items, or welfare support in exchange. This is a direct violation of Section 121 of the Electoral Act 2022, which prohibits voter inducement and the seizure of voter cards.

“The aim is clear – disenfranchise citizens, harvest PVCs, and use them for thumb-printing and multiple voting on election day. No citizen should surrender their PVC or NIN to any political party agent. Your PVC is your power. Once you give it up, you give up your voice.”

He called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to issue a public warning against PVC and NIN harvesting and to deploy its monitoring teams to flashpoints immediately.

“We use this medium to tell Ekiti people not to be intimidated. Do not surrender your PVC or NIN. Do not be cowed by thugs in borrowed uniforms. Your vote is your right, and it is your power. Come out on election day, vote and protect your vote,” Aribisogan stated.

But the APC state Publicity Secretary, Segun Dipe, who spoke in a telephone interview, said the ADC members had only displayed their ignorance once again with their allegations.

Dipe, who said advanced technology had made use of another person’s PVC impossible, queried what APC would want to do with anybody’s voter card.

“The ADC have run out of what to say, and they are only displaying their ignorance. Nobody is mopping up PVCs.

“We will pardon their ignorance if they think that you can collect anybody’s PVC. Why can’t they collect another person’s PVC and see how useful or useless it is? So we are pardoning their ignorance,” he said.

The APC spokesperson, who also dismissed the allegation of kitting thugs in Amotekun outfits, said, “Amotekun is the project of the APC government. It is not the project of any other person. So why would we get fake Amotekun when we can recruit as many people into Amotekun?

“The duty of Amotekun is different. Amotekun is to ensure that people are not kidnapped; they go into the bushes. Are we kitting fake people to go into the bushes? So again, we pardon their ignorance for not knowing the roles and functions of Amotekun.”

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