RSIEC releases list of candidates

There was drama in Rivers State’s political space as the Emeka Bekee-led All Progressives Congress (APC) joined the August 30 local council race with campaign posters of their candidates designed with photos of President Bola Tinubu, the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, and Bekee, pasted in parts of the state as well as circulating on various social media platforms.
 
Recall that the Tony Okocha-led APC had flagged off its campaigns for the council polls in Port Harcourt at the weekend after it had, on July 29, 2025, expressed readiness to participate in the polls.
 
Similarly, the Beke faction, on the same date, vowed to challenge the authority of the State’s Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (rtd), to conduct the elections, stating 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. 
 
The current political drama is sparking confusion and debate over participation, legality, and APC unity in Rivers State. Contacted, the spokesman of Bekee-led APC, Darlington Nwauju, said: “We are contesting and that’s the much we can say.”
 
Asked if his group conducted party congresses, he explained that “there are no congresses for the emergence of candidates who fly party flags. APC Constitution spells out how candidates must emerge, and we followed our party Constitution.”
 
Meanwhile, the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) has released the list of candidates who were successful in the screening exercise for the August 30 local council elections in the state.
 
The screening exercise was held from Friday, August 8, to Tuesday, August 12, 2025, at the Commission’s state headquarters in Port Harcourt. In a statement, the RSIEC Chairman, Electoral Commissioner Michael Ekpale Odey, urged political parties and candidates to visit the headquarters to verify the names displayed on the Commission’s notice board.
 
The statement added that the names of the successful candidates were published on Friday, August 12, 2025, by the revised election timetable.