Coordinator of the Pilex Centre for Civic Education Initiative, Courage Nsirimovu, has called on residents of Rivers State to boycott the scheduled Local Government Election of August 30, describing the exercise as “illegal” and a product of impunity.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Friday, Nsirimovu said the declaration of emergency rule in the state and subsequent appointment of an administrator in place of the elected governor were unconstitutional and intended to strip Rivers people of their resources and political rights.
“The Emergency Rule was proclaimed by a stranger, a Lagos business competitor who would rather see industries move to his state. In contravention of the Constitution, our elected governor was suspended and another stranger appointed, not to secure the state but to control our commonwealth,” he alleged.
He accused the emergency-appointed administrator of dissolving the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission and replacing it with an illegal body to conduct the election.
The activist expressed disappointment at what he described as silence or complicity of key institutions and groups, including civil society organizations, the judiciary, political actors, and some lawyers.
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“The judiciary has shown it is no longer the last hope of the common man. Some civil society groups endorsed the process, politicians pursued stomach infrastructure, and misguided lawyers twisted the law to suit their leanings. Shame,” Nsirimovu said.
He warned that those who participate in the election will be remembered in history as endorsing illegality, urging residents to resist.
“The truth is that this state of emergency is illegal. The truth is that this Local Government Election is illegal. The truth is that citizens’ action is the last hope of the common man. Therefore, I urge you to sit at home tomorrow, August 30, 2025. Do not vote. Do not be part of this illegal process,” he declared.
The Rivers State Government has not yet issued a response to Nsirimovu’s statement.
