Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has defended his staunch stance on conducting the local government election in the state on Saturday and the subsequent swearing in of the elected 23 chairmen and their deputies, saying his action was aimed at salvaging the local government system in the state.
Fubara boldly declared that with the conclusion of the exercise, his administration had salvaged the state’s local government system.
He also announced that a new Rivers State had been birthed based on the ‘success’ of the exercise.
The inauguration took place at the Executive Council Chamber of the Government House in Port Harcourt. This was after the state Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), Chairman Adolphus Enebeli, issued the winners of the election certificates of return.
Enebeli had before the ceremony also announced Uzodinma Nwafor of the Action Alliance (AA) as the winner of the exercise in Etche Local Government Council.
The collation of results from the council was initially stood down on Saturday but was eventually completed early yesterday.
A hitherto unknown party in the state, the Action Peoples Party (APP), swept 22 of the 23 chairmanship seats in the state, leaving even Fubara’s Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) and main opposition All Progressives Congress(APC) without any.
The APP also cleared 314 councillorship positions in the 319 wards in the state. APC won a ward; Social Democratic Party(SDP), one; Boot Party, one; Labour Party(LP), one; and Young Progress Party(YPP), one.
Results of similar elections in Akwa Ibom and Benue states showed candidates of the ruling parties—PDP and APC—respectively coasting to victory.
Inaugurating the winners of the poll in Port Harcourt, Governor Fubara argued that the local government system in the state was at the precipice of doom because some distractive political forces wanted to keep their grip on it.
The governor said he acted alongside the people by conducting the election to salvage the system.
He said henceforth, democracy would not only thrive but the people would witness the delivery of democratic dividends.
Fubara added that the pressure to destroy the system became intense three days before election day when an attempt was made to invade the headquarters of RSIEC.
His words: “But the truth remains, desperate situations require desperate measures. We were confronted with a situation where the local government of this state was heading to doom.
“And the truth about it is, because of the genuine love that we have for this State, we must salvage the local government election.
“And what we did, with the support of Rivers people, was to salvage the local government council. And to the glory of God, that has been done and dusted.”
Fubara said with the elections over, his administration would not deploy any form of undemocratic ways to confront or fight anybody.
He said: “We will assure the Federal Government that we are not going to be a party to anything leading to breakdown of law and order in this state.
“This is because we know quite alright that if there is a breakdown of law and order in this state, Nigeria will suffer, and we are not going to be a party to it. That is the reason why our standard, in terms of maturity, was high.”
Fubara charged the newly sworn-in chairmen to ensure that they remained connected with the people in their council areas.
He urged them to emulate his approach to peace so that they could be more patient with people and the situation without being violent.
He said: “For the newly sworn-in Chairmen, I want you to see yourselves as servants. Once you see yourself as emperor, that is where the problem begins. Once you see yourself as the one who knows it all because of the power of the fund available to you, that is where you will start seeing crisis.
“But see this opportunity as a call to service. It is an opportunity for you to bring people together and to deliver to the people of Rivers State. We need development in the 23 local government areas.
“Represent them well. Work for the betterment of your local government. Ensure that you are a servant leader. Open your doors, embrace everyone, and I assure you, that nothing is bigger and greater than that.
“That is the structure. When you work for the people, when you bring them in, when you help them, there is nothing bigger than that. So, that will be the ingredient of this administration.”
Fubara said he was aware that his detractors were mobilising 20 people per political unit to attack the new council chiefs when they report at their various council secretariats to resume duties.
The governor, however, advised the chairmen not to confront the situation, should it happen or fight anybody.
He said: “Please if they are coming with violence, avoid them. The peace of this State is too important to us. It is public knowledge, everybody knows what they are planning. But please, I want to beg every one of you, to follow my approach. At the right time, you will always win, if you are patient and calculative.”
Fubara warned them against greed and the urge to amass wealth indiscreetly, adding that their tendency to get everything would make them lose everything.
He added: “You must ensure that this opportunity God has given you at this critical time is protected. Don’t fail Him. Don’t fail these elders that have come here to witness this ceremony.
“We want this to be a landmark. This is the beginning of a new Rivers State, and I am going to make sure that I supervise it with all that I have.
“I will follow up with whatever is happening in the 23 local governments with everything because I believe this is not a time for me to make any mistake.
“You must live above board. But I know with what you have done your past responsibilities, and a few of you that I know personally, you are not going to disappoint us.’’
While expressing gratitude to God, Fubara appreciated President Bola Tinubu for his democratic approach.
He said: “On behalf of the good people of Rivers State, I want to thank him (President Tinubu).
“I am so glad that the Chairman of the Governor’s Forum of PDP, and Governor of Bauchi State, Senator Bala Mohammed, are here with us to witness the ceremony. I want to assure you that I remain a member of the PDP.”
In Eket, Governor Eno of Akwa Ibom State told worshippers at All Nations Christian Ministry International, that the chairmen-elect and their deputies would be inaugurated today for rapid development.
He said: “Election was concluded yesterday(Saturday). We are swearing in new chairmen tomorrow(today) by 8 am. We want to thank those that have served. They have done well.
“The window we negotiated with the Federal Government was till October, and this is October. So we need to quickly swear in those Chairmen so that they will start receiving their allocation and work for their people.”
The APC, however, rejected the election in the state, alleging that it was characterised by massive rigging, violence, and snatching of materials by agents of the ruling PDP.
The opposition party said in a statement by its spokesman Udo that AKISIEC compromised the integrity and credibility of the election in favour of the PDP.
The statement partly reads:‘’What we also saw and experienced yesterday(Saturday) was a manifestation of such influence beginning with acute shortages of election materials which disenfranchised quite a number of accredited voters and actions of financial inducements on voters by the ruling PDP in the state.
“AKISIEC just like any other SIEC in Nigeria is controlled and managed by the State Government. To that extent, there is a perceived and real influence of the electoral umpire by the State Government.
“And to that extent, the obvious result would be tilted in favour of the ruling party in the state.’’
The party, however, appealed to its supporters to remain calm because there is hope.
Eno’s counterpart in Benue State Hyacinth Alia and Labour Party(LP) Chairman in the state Ibrahim Idoko lauded the peaceful conduct of the poll and its outcomes.
But a Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) Senator from the state Abba Moro described the election on Saturday as a rape of democracy.
Alia, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS) Tersoo Kula, commended the Benue people for their peaceful conduct and support for all the APC candidates.
The governor described the outcome of the poll as a reflection of the maturity of the people to engage in a democratic process with respect and dignity.
He said: “The successful conduct of these elections, free from violence, is a testament to our collective resolve to uphold the values of peace and unity that are fundamental to our progress as a state.
“I am proud to see our citizens trooping out to make their voices heard, demonstrating that we can engage in the democratic process with respect and dignity.”
Alia congratulated the winners and urged those who lost to join hands with his administration to move the state forward.
However, Moro, who is the Senate minority leader, said reports from polling units across his senatorial district indicated that the election did not hold.
He claimed that election materials and officials of BSIEC were not seen anywhere in the area.
Moro added that he was disappointed in Governor Alia for not standing by the truth and due process as promised during his electioneering.
He said: “I expected the governor, as a priest, to push for a paradigm shift by doing what is right and not referencing and copying what was wrongly done in the past.
“Democracy is fiercely fought for, with some people paying the supreme price. Anti-democratic forces will not be allowed to destroy the system.”
He enjoined PDP members to remain calm, as everything legally possible would be done to challenge the election in court.
