By Onyeche Igwe
The Rivers Governor, Siminalyi Fubara, has regretted that his party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), will not be taking part in the October 5 Local Government Election in the state.
Governor Fubara stated this on Thursday during a meeting with some stakeholders of the party at the Rivers State Government House in Port Harcourt.
He said the election has to be held on Saturday to comply with the three months of grace given by the Federal Government to begin the implementation of the Supreme Court judgement on local government autonomy.
Rivers State joins the long list of states conducting LG polls across the country.
“You know this election, I am the greatest loser because my party is not participating. It is the truth!” Fubara said.
“Go, do what the law says you should do, as demanded by the RSIEC Law, and leave the rest. RSIEC will take it from there, and when RSIEC finishes its part, the State Government will also take it from that point and finish its part, and the process will all be consummated by the special grace of God in a few days.
“But because of the Supreme Court ruling that there must be elected officials to manage the affairs of local governments, as a governor, I have to obey that.
“And a good number of you here are my party faithful and you are not even benefiting from it, and you are here supporting us. So, what is the problem?
“So, I want to thank you for supporting democracy. I want to thank you for ensuring that there is a rule of law. I want to thank you for sticking your neck out to make sure that Rivers State still stands among the comity of states.”
Fubara insisted that the election will have only those residents in the state who are registered voters participating.
The governor also appealed to residents of the state to return to their various LGAs, follow the process, be law-abiding, and eschew violence.
