As APC flags off campaign, vows to win all 23 chairmanship seats
Political parties under the umbrella of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) have declared they will not participate in the Rivers State local council election, describing it as illegal, unconstitutional, and an assault on Nigeria’s democracy.
IPAC stressed that the state of emergency in Rivers was declared solely to contain prolonged political crises and restore peace, not to organise elections.
In a statement, IPAC National Chairman, Dr Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, said that the planned poll is “an exercise in futility” and must be rejected by all who value constitutional governance.
He said: “The Sole Administrator has no constitutional mandate to conduct a democratic election as if the nation is under a military regime. Only an elected governor has the constitutional power to conduct a local council election in collaboration with the State House of Assembly.
IPAC, therefore, directed all political parties not to participate in what it described as a ‘charade and sham’ local council election in Rivers State.
MEANWHILE, the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has officially commenced campaigns for the local council elections slated for August 30, 2025.
The Tony Okocha-led APC, while addressing the gathering yesterday during the flag off, boasted that the party will win the 23 chairmanship and councillorship positions in the 319 wards of the state.
Okocha pointed out that the local council polls conducted on October 5, 2024, under the suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara were flawed. He said: “You will recall that some time ago, there was something that was a charade. APC said we were not going to participate, and we didn’t participate. We assured them that it will not hold water. It will not work.
“Today, we are bold, we are happy, we are excited to stand before you to tell you that because the processes put in place by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) are right, we are here to support and follow those processes.
“Our people have been screened and declared candidates, so we are good to go.” Okocha said the party members have been united to lift the APC into a place of pride in Rivers politics.
“A lot of you have been itching to go to the field and begin to campaign. Now, as soon as this is consummated, you are free to go to all the nooks and crannies of the 23 local council areas and the 319 wards and campaign,” he said.
Also speaking, Magnus Abe, the Senator who represented Rivers South-East in the Senate, noted that the unity and cohesion which had been achieved in the party under the leadership of Okocha is amazing.
