The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Saturday participated in the Rivers State local government elections, casting his ballot at Rumepirikom, Ward 9, Unit 007 in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.
Wike arrived at the polling unit around 11:15 am, where he commended the peaceful atmosphere of the exercise and dismissed concerns over the non-usage of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in the process.
“I am very happy. It means that people identify with the election. 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,” he told journalists after voting.
The former Rivers governor added that voter turnout was encouraging and expressed optimism that the numbers would grow before the close of polls.
“Of course we are concerned, but people are trooping out. Before the election closes, you will see the number of persons. So, we are very happy that, at the end of the day, this election has been conducted very peacefully and successfully.”
Wike further linked the successful conduct of the election to the possibility of lifting the state of emergency declared earlier in the state.
“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.
The state of emergency in Rivers State was declared by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on March 18, 2025, after a prolonged political crisis between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike. Tinubu suspended the governor, his deputy, and the entire House of Assembly for six months, and appointed retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.) as Administrator.
