• APC wins 20 councils, PDP secures three amid voter apathy
• Election ‘travesty of democracy’, says ex-VP, urges rejection
• Analyst: Fubara beaten to subjection, must tread carefully
• Ebogidi: Council chairmen will work with Fubara for governance
Despite a peaceful August 30 council election in Rivers State, political tensions remain, as FCT Minister Nyesom Wike tightened control of grassroots structures, leaving suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara weakened, isolated, and forced to navigate survival amid an unresolved power struggle.
Meanwhile, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has condemned the conduct of the poll, describing it as “an awful absurdity and a travesty to the very notion of elective democracy.”
In a statement yesterday, the former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, criticised what he termed the “shameful and shambolic manner” in which the Rivers State government went ahead with the exercise, insisting that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was bent on securing political advantage at all costs.
“It is clear that the ruling APC party is not leaving anyone in doubt that it is prepared to throw caution to the wind in order to achieve an inordinate political advantage,” Atiku said.
The APC clinched 20 council seats, while the Peoples Democratic Party secured three in the poll that was marred by voter apathy.
Across the state, from Port Harcourt to rural constituencies, on-the-spot observations confirmed that some polling stations remained empty throughout the voting period.
In many areas, the number of election officials, security personnel, and party agents far outnumbered the handful of citizens who turned up to vote.
Residents anticipated the whole process, which they described as a “one-man show.”
Unlike previous polls in Rivers State, which were characterised by violence, fighting, killings, and ballot box snatching, Saturday’s polls were very peaceful and free from violence, perhaps due to consensus candidates between PDP and APC, both being controlled by Wike.
However, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has asserted that, with the conduct of the council elections, the coast is clear for the return of suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and members of the State Assembly.
The big question is: have the drivers of the first conflict been addressed, or are they still very active?
Unarguably, the key contention that led to the initial conflict was the control of state political and governance structures, which sadly resulted in the State of Emergency.
A close check on the list of council winners showed they are all loyalists of the minister and, by extension, Tony Okocha, a close ally of Wike and chairman of the APC in the state.
At present, Wike controls both PDP and APC in Rivers State. With the emergence of their candidates as winners, it indicates that grassroots structures and governance have been recaptured by Wike. Many of the council chairmen who earlier disrespected and fought the governor’s office—though they campaigned and worked for Fubara’s emergence—have returned as council chairmen and board chairmen.
Grassroots structures are key to the relevance of any politician, especially governors.
This is apparently why Fubara wanted to build his own structure, but analysts argue that his strategies were immature, given that he was up against very experienced hands like Wike and Okocha, who had both money and power. The duo had earlier boasted that they would teach Fubara a lesson, and they have indeed shown him to be a novice in the game of politics.
Therefore, taking away grassroots structures from Fubara, ahead of his expected return to office on September 18, is like taking a fish out of the river.
When a fish is removed from the river, there is no oxygen for it to breathe except it returns to the water.
As it stands, Fubara’s survival chances on return lie in playing along carefully. Otherwise, the men may give him a stiffer fight, having captured all the structures.
Speaking on this, Dr Nwodim Obinna, a lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of Port Harcourt, said: “They have beaten Fubara to subjection, he has to tread subtly as he returns on September 18. He should now focus on fighting for survival in the next two years plus.”
Nwodim noted that the political fights in Rivers State in the past two years have centred on grabbing the soul of the state through structures, which Wike has finally achieved.
With the development, he argued, the situation has not abated, describing it as a “ceasefire in the political struggle in Rivers State political landscape.”
“Until Fubara returns and begins to show subjection, they will now know that he is in with them. He is struggling for survival. For years, we have not seen peace and development in Rivers State, so all the political players should come together and work towards fostering a greater and better Rivers State,” the varsity don advocated.
Also speaking, chairman of the Civil Liberties Organisation in Rivers State, Sunny Dada, described the situation as “an effective clipping of the wings of Fubara to Wike.”
Dada said: “No governor will tolerate and function with the kind of structure we witnessed in the last two months in the state, where the board chairmen, council chairmen, among others, are loyalists of another man.”
He added that for the Minister to say the coast is clear entails that “Wike and his allies are satisfied and have achieved all their target structures required to capture the state.”
“Time will tell, let us see the return of the governor and the outcomes. Some cases are still in court regarding the elections.”
The state is still pregnant. Fubara has already conceded defeat, has surrendered to both the state and LG structure loyal to Wike. Fubara has boxed himself into a tight corner because no matter how he shouts, nobody will stick out his neck for him again. This was what they wanted—to separate him from his support base, which they have succeeded in doing,” Dada stated.
But for the convener of Rivers Peace Initiative, Obinna Ebogidi, the council chairmen will work with Fubara because they sacrificed to ensure his emergence.
“With the council elections, the return of a democratic government is sure. The focus will be governance. Fubara’s decision to work with Wike shows he has gone back to his original political fold. All hands on deck to deliver dividends of democracy in Rivers State.”
“The political class should embrace peace. We have had a cycle of self-centred politics that only seeks to further the interests of individuals. Governance doesn’t thrive where there is bitterness.”
Control of structures, which is more of a selfish game, has been the bane of Rivers’ unabated political crisis since 1999. It is hoped that political gladiators will start putting the needs and aspirations of the masses first before selfish interest. That way, the long cycle of fighting may finally be abated.
Nigeria on a dangerous curve under Tinubu, Atiku tells int’l community
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar called on “well-meaning Nigerians, the international community and all friends and partners of Nigeria” to pay attention to what he described as “the dangerous curve that the President Bola Tinubu regime is taking our dear country.”
He urged opposition parties in Rivers State to reject the outcome of the elections, arguing that the government that conducted the exercise lacked legitimacy.
“Atiku said: “The occupation government that conducted the exercise is extraneous to our laws, with absolutely no legitimacy to undertake such a crucial and sensitive assignment.”
He also expressed solidarity with the people of Rivers State, whom he described as “victims of political brigandry by a power cabal bent on overturning their democratic rights at all cost.”
