Eligible voters in Rivers State on Saturday cast their ballots in the local government elections conducted by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) across 23 councils.
The exercise, which was held in 6,866 polling units in the 319 wards of the state, is expected to produce elected local government chairpersons and councilors and replace the council administrators appointed in April 2025.
The elections came six months and two days after the Supreme Court upturned the council elections conducted on October 5, 2024, by the RSIEC.
Channels Television, which monitored the election on Saturday in different areas, including Port Harcourt, Obio Akpor Metropolis, and Abonnema in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area, observed that the exercise was largely peaceful.
Speaking during a pre-election broadcast on Friday, the Chairman of the RSIEC, Michael Odey, assured the voters of the prompt arrival of voting materials to the various polling units, including the rural and riverine communities.
However, it was observed that electoral materials did not arrive in time in some polling units.
As of 9:30 am, voting had yet to commence at Ward 3, Unit 11 in the Emohua LGA.
Only a few voters and party agents were present, making arrangements ahead of the arrival of the materials.
The same situation was recorded at Ward 3, Unit 9 in the Emohua LGA, where a few voters were seen checking their names on the register displayed on the wall, while an RSIEC official waited for the arrival of electoral materials.
Voting was ongoing in Ward 13, Unit 06, Aluu, in the Ikwerre LGA, when Channels Television visited the unit at about 10:30 am.
In Ward 4, in the Tai Local Government Area, all the 21 polling units were stationed at the Koroma Campus of the Federal University of Environment and Technology.
‘Coast Clear To End Emergency Rule’
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, cast his ballot at about 11:15 am in Rumepirikom, Ward 9, Unit 007, Obio/Akpo Local Government Area of the state.
Wike described the Rivers council election as peaceful commendable.
Wike served as the chairman of Obio/Akpo LGA for two terms in 1999 before he rose to become a governor, serving in that position from 2015 to 2023.
He said that with the conduct of the council elections, the coast was clear for the emergency rule to end.
“So, having done this, then the coast is clear for the state of emergency to be lifted, meaning that the local government has representatives, the state government has its own elected representatives, so we are good to go,” he said.
READ ALSO: Rivers LG Polls: Coast Now Clear For Lifting Of Emergency Rule, Says Wike
‘Election Peaceful’
The former governor also hailed the conduct of the exercise, describing it as peaceful, and dismissed concerns over the non-usage of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in the election.
“I am very happy. It means that people identify with the election,” Wike, who was surrounded by supporters, said after voting.
“You have not heard of any violence. You have not heard of carrying ballot boxes.
You see that the electoral materials are there. People are there casting their votes.
As far as we are concerned, the election is very peaceful.
“Of course, we are concerned [about low turnout], but people are trooping out. Before the election closes, you will see the number of persons [increase]. So, we are very happy that, at the end of the day, this election has been conducted very peacefully and successfully,” he added.
Although there is no usage of BVAS in the election, Wike said concerns over the development did not undermine the conduct of the polls.
We’ll Have Credible Results, Says Ibas
Meanwhile, the Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral (retd.) Ibok-Ete Ibas, commended the peaceful and orderly conduct of the elections, describing it as a decisive step toward restoring full democratic governance at the grassroots.
Vice Admiral Ibas, who monitored the exercise in several local government areas, expressed satisfaction with the comportment of voters and election officials, noting that their conduct created a calm and secure environment for the polls.
Speaking with reporters in Port Harcourt, the administrator highlighted the voter turnout and the serenity at polling units as proof of the Rivers people’s eagerness to reclaim and participate in grassroots governance.
“I am very happy with what I have witnessed today. The process has been notably peaceful, from the significant turnout to the orderly conduct of both voters and election officials. I am confident that at the end of the day, we will have a credible set of results that we will all be proud of as a state,” he stated.
Ibas disclosed that situation reports from across the 23 local government areas aligned with his observations, pointing to a largely incident-free exercise.
“Generally, the situation has been calm and seamless across the state. We have not received any major negative reports, which is a testament to the collective desire for peace and normalcy,” he added.
The administrator stated that the successful conduct of the elections reflected the people’s desire to elect leaders they can identify with at the local level.
He added, “Certainly, all indigenes of Rivers State want and deserve grassroots leadership they can call their own. That is what this process represents.
“Facilitating this foundational tier of democracy is a core objective of my mandate: to put the state back on a stable, democratic path and empower its people.”
The Public Relations Officer of the Rivers State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, said the police had yet to record any case of electoral violence, adding that adequate security was provided to make the council polls hitch-free.
Sorting and counting of the votes cast began at about 2 pm in many of the polling units.
Meanwhile, a civil society organisation, Yiaga Africa, has questioned the non-use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in the conduct of the Rivers local government elections.
Yiaga Africa’s Programme Director Cynthia Mbamalu, who spoke on Saturday on Channels Television’s Sunrise show, said the absence of the device in the polls raised concerns over the quality of the exercise.
Similarly, the Executive Director of the Electoral College of Nigeria, Kunle Lawal, faulted the conduct of the elections in Rivers State, citing the imposition of emergency rule in the coastal state.
Lawal spoke on Saturday as residents of the oil-rich state cast their ballots to elect chairpersons and councillors in the 23 local government areas of the state.
“I don’t see democracy in someone who was appointed, creating the elected. The elected is always supposed to precede the appointed,” Lawal said on Channels Television’s Sunrise.
Although the official results of the elections have not been announced by RSIEC, those announced as winners by the electoral commission will replace the council chairpersons who emerged from the exercise conducted in October 2024, before the polls were nullified by the Supreme Court.
Rivers is currently under emergency rule led by Ibas, who was sworn in by President Bola Tinubu on March 19, 2025.
This followed the suspension of Sim Fubara as governor after a power play between him and Wike, which resulted in a political crisis.
However, Fubara and Wike later reconciled their differences after President Tinubu intervened.
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