Amidst protests and issuance of legal notices to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state has flagged off its campaign with the presentation of flags to its candidates ahead of the August 30th local government elections.

Some groups and individuals, including the Emeka Beke-led All Progressives Congress (APC), have called on the RSIEC to suspend the election, citing the advice by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to the state electoral body against issuing only a 21-day notice, as well as the ongoing voter revalidation exercise.

The spokesman of the APC faction, Darlington Nwauju, in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, claimed that it wrote to RSIEC on August 5, 2025, informing them that it has a subsisting judgement in court recognising Beke as the APC Chairman, adding that no other judgement has countered such.

However, RISIEC insisted that it had not received any notice, adding that it had met all necessary conditions and would proceed with the polls.

The Commissioner in charge of Political Parties Affairs, Monitoring, and Security, Godfrey Woke, said the commission has not received any formal litigation notice from groups opposing the exercise.

Speaking at the campaign flag-off today, PDP State Chairman Aaron Chukwuemeka reaffirmed the party’s dominance in the state’s political landscape. The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Kingsley Chinda, described the scheduled local government polls as a constitutional necessity.