The suspended Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, and his supporters were conspicuously absent on Saturday during election into the chairmanship and councillorship positions in the state.
Fubara was not seen in Opobo Local Government Area, where he hails from, though the election took place on a limited scale.
Sources told Sunday PUNCH that the governor was not present in the state.
Some notable supporters of the suspended governor such as the Chief of Staff to the Government House, Edison Ehie, the Secretary to the Government, Dr Tammy Danagogo, the sacked 23 local government chairmen, and others, did not also turn up for the election.
Members of the Simplified Movement, a socio-political organisation loyal to Fubara, were also not seen anywhere near the voting centres.
When electoral materials arrived at Fubara’s unit in Ward 5, Opobo in Opobo/Nkoro LGA around 11am, there were assurances that the embattled governor, who had recently mended fences with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesome Wike, his political godfather, would participate in the election.
However, till voting concluded in the area around 3:30pm, Fubara did not show up to exercise his constitutional duty.
As of the time of filing this report, it was gathered that the suspended governor, who is expected to be recalled to office on September 18, did not return to his Opobo hometown for the election.
A source said Fubara had travelled to London and did not return before the scheduled election.
On March 18, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State following a protracted political crisis between Fubara and Wike, who had the majority of the state lawmakers on his side.
After proclaiming the emergency rule, Tinubu suspended Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for an initial period of six months.
He also appointed Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas (retd.) as the sole administrator to oversee the affairs of the state.
Tinubu’s decision sparked outrage across the country, with legal practitioners, politicians, and civil society organisations condemning the act.
Wike and Fubara later reconciled and entered into an agreement, which also included a fresh conduct of the local government election earlier won by the latter’s loyalists.
APC dominates council poll
Prior to the council election, the final list of political parties and candidates cleared to contest the local government elections released by RSIEC included the PDP, the All Progressives Congress, Labour Party, All Progressives Grand Alliance, Zenith Party, Accord Party, African Action Congress, Action People’s Party, the Social Democratic Party, among others.
The list showed that the PDP fielded only three chairmanship candidates, while the APC presented 20 chairmanship candidates across the state’s 23 LGAs.
Wike’s political structure in the state, now known as the Renewed Hope Agenda, expressed satisfaction with the process, saying it was confident of victory.
It was learned that 20 of the seats were given to the APC, under the leadership of Chief Tony Okocha, while three of the seats were given to the PDP to produce chairmen.
A source specifically mentioned that the three seats for the PDP were Obio/Akpor, the LGA of the FCT Minister, Port Harcourt City, and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGAs.
