A group of prominent Rivers State indigenes, including former Governor Celestine Omehia and ex-PDP National Chairman Uche Secondus, has urged President Bola Tinubu to halt the planned local government elections in the state and reinstate suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) has fixed August 30, 2025, for the polls.
But the stakeholders, operating under the name “Major Stakeholders,” warned that proceeding with the exercise would constitute a “serious threat to democracy” and violate constitutional provisions.
Other signatories include Atedo Peterside, Chief Abiye Sekibo, Senator Lee Maeba, Dr Dakuku Peterside, Senator Andrew Uchendu, Tele Ikuru, and several other political figures and civil society leaders.
Fubara, his deputy Prof Ngozi Odu, and members of the state House of Assembly were suspended on March 18, 2025, by the President, who appointed Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.) as sole administrator.
The group argued that RSIEC, inaugurated by Ibas, lacked a constitutional mandate and had failed to meet the legal 90-day notice requirement for elections.
In an open letter, the stakeholders alleged that the election plan was “an existential assault on democracy” and likened it to the 2024 polls annulled by the Supreme Court over procedural breaches.
They called on the President, the National Assembly, the judiciary, civil society, and the international community to intervene.
“Rivers State stands at a crossroads: surrender to impunity or uphold the constitution and the will of the people,” the statement read.