Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, is set to inaugurate the newly elected council chairmen today, Sunday, October 6, 2024. The ceremony will take place at 4 PM in the Executive Council Chambers of the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
A statement from the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Tammy Danagogo, indicated that the newly elected chairmen should arrive by 3:30 PM with one guest each.
In the recent local government elections held on October 5, 2024, 22 chairmanship candidates from the Action Peoples Party were declared winners by the Chairman of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, Justice Adolphus Enebeli (retd.). He announced these results during a declaration event in Port Harcourt on Saturday, affirming that the candidates garnered a majority of valid votes in two-thirds of their respective wards across the 22 local governments.
However, the election faced challenges, including violence in some areas, particularly at Elekahia Primary School in Port Harcourt City LGA, where armed individuals disrupted the voting process. Eyewitnesses reported that RSIEC officials and voters fled as heavily armed men arrived in 21 patrol vans, deploying tear gas at the venue.
Explosions were also reported at the All Progressives Congress secretariat on Aba Road, as well as the Obio/Akpor Local Government secretariat. In response, the state police command dispatched units to investigate these incidents.
There were further disruptions observed in various wards, including the absence of RSIEC officials in Ward 9, Rumueprikom, the hometown of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. A voter noted, “Election did not hold in Rumuiprikom; that’s what we noticed. But in other places, they’re doing elections. We don’t even know what happened.” Similar observations were reported in Mgbuoba and Ozuoba communities within Obio/Akpor LG.
