The planned Saturday, August 30, 2025, Local Government elections in Rivers State has continued to trigger concerns as political experts, and other civic groups reject the process, describing it as illegal and lacking integrity.
The respondents who spoke exclusively on the planned elections, cautioned that democracy is more than voting, stressing that it is an illegal process to conduct LG elections in Rivers State without first lifting and restoring democratic institutions in the state.
For a political scientist in the state, Prof Chris Pepple, when trust collapses, ballots become mere paper, and elections become theatre.
“The heart of the problem lies in legitimacy: an electoral body appointed under questionable circumstances without transparent vetting, in a political climate already super-charged by emergency rule. Even if the commission’s work is flawless, perception alone can poison the process”. “We must ask: what do we lose by delaying? A short pause to clarify legality, rebuild trust, and involve all stakeholders’ costs far less than years of litigation, boycotts, and fractured governance”. Prof Chris Pepple, of the Department of Political Science, University of Port Harcourt declared.
Also Read: Rivers Targets Tougher Flood Defence with New Emergency Agency
Also, another resident, a former president of the National Youth Council of Nigeria ( NYCN), Oyigbo Chapter, Engr. ComradeDesmond. Nnamdi Akaya, stressed that Rivers State deserves Local Government elections chosen in daylight, not in the fog of dispute, adding that democracy should be paused to be protected.
Comrade Akaya used the opportunity to admonish President Bola Tinubu, the National Assembly, Civil Society Organizations( CSOs), youth groups across the 23 Local Government Areas of the state, Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs), security operatives, the media,
religious groups, and Rivers electorate, among other good-spirited individuals, to clamour for the immediate suspension of the elections slated for Saturday, August 30, 2025, until legality is clarified, auditing of Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC)’s appointments, and the invitation of independent observers to sample
their opinions, as well as, the re-instatement of democracy rule under the watch of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, among other demanding issues, as to avoid the looming anarchy in the once peaceful state.
Also lending credence through condemnation of the planned elections, a civic advocate and founder of The Albino Foundation, Dr Jake Epelle urged Rivers electorate to massively boycott the process, saying the process has failed integrity test.
