Rivers LG Poll: Fubara trumps Wike as APP wins 22 out of 23 chairmanship positions
By Ishaya Ibrahim
The battle for political supremacy between Governor Sim Fubara and Minister Nyesom Wike in Rivers State may have finally been settled with the governor giving the minister a bloody nose on Saturday.
This is because the Fubara-backed Action People’s Party (APP) won 22 chairmanship positions out of 23 in the just-concluded local government election in the State.
TheNiche had earlier reported that the APP candidates who left the PDP after Wike hijacked the party structure in the State were set to win in a landslide.
That report has been confirmed by the results declared by the Chief Election Officer of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) Adolphus Enebeli on Saturday evening in Port Harcourt.
However, the state electoral umpire suspended the declaration of results for Etche Local Government Area (LGA) because the collation is ongoing.
The RSIEC chairman also said that announcement for the 319 councillorship seats will be announced alongside that of the Etche Chairmanship position when collations are concluded.
He described the election as free, fair, and credible, despite all odds. According to him, polls were closed at 3 pm and recorded a large turnout of voters.
Enebeli saluted the patriotism of the residents who turned out to vote.
The declaration of the results was observed by members of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), chairmen of state independent electoral bodies across the country, and members of the Nigerian Bar Association who acted as observers in the polls.
He said the commission “adopted the principle of bi-location because of the exigencies” they found themselves.
The results were announced at the Ministry of Justice Hall at the State Secretariat complex, rather than the Commission’s office on Aba Road.