Rivers: Wike regains control of political structure as Fubara, loyalists boycott LG polls

 Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Minister and former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike has regained his political influence in the state after a prolonged face-off with his successor, Siminalayi Fubara.

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The Minister recaptured the local government structure on Saturday following the election conducted in the 23 Local Government Areas of the state by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC.

The elections were conducted after the political crisis that tore the state apart.

Recall that in the heat of the crisis last year, Governor Fubara conducted a highly controversial local government election, with his men sweeping relatively all the chairmanship positions.

Fubara’s loyalists had contested the election conducted on October 4, 2024 under the Action Peoples Party, APP, and won 22 out of the 23 chairmanship positions in the state.

However, the Supreme Court on February 28, 2025, nullified the election, following an appeal brought before the apex court by the All Progressives Congress, APC.

The court, in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Jamilu Tukur, invalidated the election after it restored a judgment of the Federal High Court, which earlier in 2024 restrained RSIEC from proceeding with the conduct of the council polls on the grounds that the state’s voter’s register must be updated before the conduct of the poll.

Fubara’s suspension and reconciliation with Wike

Worried by the impact of the prolonged feud between Wike and his then estranged political son, President Bola Tinubu on March 18, declared a state of emergency in Rivers and suspended Governor Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the state House of Assembly for six months.

The president said the decision was taken to restore stability in the state.

A few months after the suspension, Tinubu met with Fubara and Wike at the state House and brokered peace between them.

The duo reportedly entered a concrete agreement witnessed by President Tinubu himself. Part of the agreement, according to reports, was to allow Wike’s men to return to the local government.

The deal paved the way for the fresh LG election conducted across the state on Saturday.

How Wike’s loyalists regained control

In the run up to the Saturday polls, Wike’s loyalists and former Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, stalwarts defected to the Chief Tony Okocha-led All Progressive Congress, APC, and picked the party’s ticket to contest the elections.

The move, according to analysts, was to allow Wike to take control of both the PDP and the APC ahead of the 2027 general elections in the state.

All the loyalists were cleared by the RSIEC to contest the election despite opposition from another faction of the APC, which has now shifted to the African Democratic Congress, ADC.

DAILY POST reports that in the 23 local government areas in the state, chairmanship candidates linked to Wike contested the election on APC platform in 20 local government areas, while three others ran as PDP members.

Those linked to the FCT Minister in PDP are contesting in Obio-Akpor, the minister’s Local Government Area; Port Harcourt and Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni.

Although RSIEC is yet to announce winners of the Saturday polls, the coast is clear for Wike’s men.