Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has condemned the conduct of the Rivers State local government election, describing it as “a desecration of democracy” and a dangerous precedent for governance in Nigeria.

In a post on his X handle on Sunday, Obi faulted the exercise, which was supervised by a sole administrator whose appointment has been the subject of controversy.

He argued that the process stripped the people of their constitutional right to choose their leaders and instead entrenched illegality.
“The conduct of the Rivers State local government election is rascality taken too far,” Obi declared.

“It represents a double tragedy for our democracy when a sole administrator—himself illegally appointed—dares to conduct an election that should empower the people. This is not democracy; it is the outright desecration of its very foundation.”
He stressed that such actions are unconstitutional, morally indefensible, and legally untenable, warning that “illegality can never give birth to legitimacy.”

According to him, any governance structure erected on lawlessness endangers both the state and its citizens.
Obi urged political leaders to return to the path of democratic accountability by upholding the sanctity of the ballot and safeguarding the people’s right to choose, especially at the grassroots level where governance impacts citizens most directly.

“We cannot pretend to practise democracy while silencing the will of the people,” he wrote, adding that true progress could only be achieved when leaders derive their mandate from the people’s votes rather than from “contraptions that mock democracy.”

The Rivers poll has generated widespread debate, with legal experts and civic groups warning that the frequent use of caretaker or sole administrators in place of elected councils undermines constitutional governance.

Obi’s intervention, observers say, underscores growing calls for reforms to secure local government autonomy and restore trust in Nigeria’s electoral process.