The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), recently inaugurated by the Sole Administrator, retired Vice Admiral Ibok Ete-Ibas, has announced a revised timetable for the 2025 Local Council Elections in the state.

According to the commission, the elections are scheduled to be held on August 30, 2025.

Recall that the RSIEC board, under the suspended Governor Siminalyi Fubara, had fixed August 9, 2025, for the local council polls after the Supreme Court nullified the October 5, 2024, council elections. Shortly after taking office, Ibas dissolved the board and inaugurated the current board led by Dr Michael Odey as Chairman.

During its stakeholders meeting yesterday, attended by members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Aaron Chukwurmeka and Tony Okocha-led All Progressives Congress (APC), excluding the Emeka Bekee-led APC, amongst others, RSIEC outlined key dates for the electoral process.

According to the timetable, the submission of venue, date, and time for party primaries will be held from Monday, July 29, 2025, to Wednesday, July 30, 2025.

Odey, during the meeting, assured of transparent and credible polls. But stakeholders have criticised the decision, saying it is dead on arrival.

According to Blessing Wikina, the elections are just an exercise to justify money “spent” by officials, adding that litigations will mar the exercise, as it does not meet the 90-day notice requirement to political parties.

Accordingly, the timetable is supposed to give a 90-day window of preparations for party primaries, nominations, and campaigns for all political parties, among others.

However, the factional APC Chairman in the state, Beke, has vowed to challenge the authority of the Sole Administrator to conduct the elections.

Bekee argued that the sole administrator lacks the legal right to organise local council elections. He also noted that his party’s failure to obey the rule of law makes it difficult to determine whether they will participate in the polls or not.

Similarly, a people’s advocate group, the PILEX Centre, has maintained that it is unconstitutional for the Sole Administrator, without constitutional powers, to set up RSIEC as stipulated in Section 198 of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (As amended).

A statement signed by the group’s Executive Director, Courage Nsirimovu, called on the people of Rivers State to boycott unlawful actions, especially the proposed local council elections by Ibas.