Rivers LG Poll: Thanks To Wike,  APC Crushes PDP, Wins 20 Councils, PDP 3

By Ayodele Oni

Voters shunned the polls in Fubara’s Opobo LGA. At one unidentified venue, a group of young men were busy thump-printing result sheets

The All Progressives Congress, (APC) has, for the first time since its founding, secured a dominant victory in the Rivers State Chairmanship and Councillorship elections.  It is also the first time the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, would lose such a Poll in the State. This is, not a few people allege, thanks to the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, the APC won 20 out of the 23 Local Council Areas declared by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, leaving the PDP with a beggarly three Local Councils. For the records, Wike is the unofficial but effective Leader of both the APC (factional) and the PDP (factional) in the State. Instructively, one of the LGAs won by the PDP, is Wike’s Obio/Akpor.

The PDP is supposedly, the ruling party in the State. The State’s suspended Governor, Siminalayi Fubara and the suspended members of the House of Assembly, are PDP, and so is Wike who is serving under the APC Federal Government and rooting for it.

The outcome of the polls, saw Fubara losing his home base of Opobo-Nkoro to the main opposition. However Fubara not take part in the election, did not go home and, is reportedly, out of the country.

It was, also, reported that his Opobo people mainly shunned the polls and so did all his loyalists.

The results were announced on Sunday by the RSIEC Chairman, Dr Michael Odey, at the commission’s headquarters along Aba Road in Port Harcourt, where final collation confirmed APC’s overwhelming lead.

APC also won the councillorship election in 20 LGAs, while the PDP claimed only three councils.

No other political party, aside APC and PDP, featured in both the chairmanship or councillorship contests.

Mixed turnout was recorded across the State. While rural communities witnessed high participation, several urban centres, including Port Harcourt City, Obio/Akpor, and Akukutoro witnessed low turnout and voter apathy.

One of two viral videos  showed that in Opobo, Fubara’s LGA, voters shunned the polls, as narrated by the NTA, while at another venue, young men were seen, thump-printing result sheets.

The list of winners released by RSIEC shows that some of the elected chairmen are returning for a second term, having previously served under the administration of then Governor Wike.