The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) has officially scheduled August 30, 2025, for the conduct of local government elections across the state.
RSIEC Chairman, Michael Odey, announced the date during a stakeholders’ meeting held on Monday at the commission’s headquarters on Aba Road, Port Harcourt.
Odey assured stakeholders that the forthcoming elections would be free, fair, and credible, emphasizing RSIEC’s commitment to delivering the most transparent local polls the state has witnessed.
The meeting brought together representatives of political parties, traditional institutions, security agencies, religious and civil society organizations, professional bodies, and the media. The highlight of the gathering was the unveiling of the revised timetable and guidelines for the elections.
This development follows the Supreme Court’s February 28, 2025, judgment, which nullified the October 5, 2024, local government elections conducted by RSIEC. The apex court ruled that the polls violated Section 150(3) of the Electoral Act 2022, citing insufficient stakeholder notice and failure to release the voters register.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) had filed the suit that led to the invalidation. Prior to the ruling, the Federal High Court in Abuja had barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing the voters register and restrained police from providing security for the polls — orders later overturned by the Court of Appeal on jurisdictional grounds, but reinstated by the Supreme Court.
Following the judgment, all 23 local government chairmen were removed from office.
The political crisis deepened on March 18, 2025, when President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and the State House of Assembly.
In the wake of the declaration, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd) was appointed Sole Administrator. Upon assuming office, Ibas dissolved and reconstituted the leadership of RSIEC and the local councils, paving the way for the fresh election process now set in motion.