Rivers State Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (Rtd), has urged residents of the state to remain peaceful as they participate in the local government elections today.
Ibas made this call during a meeting with leaders of organized labor and local government administrators at the Government House in Port Harcourt.
Voters across the 23 local government areas of Rivers State are casting their ballots at 6,866 polling units in the crucial local government elections. The elections are taking place just six months and two days after the Supreme Court annulled the local government poll conducted on October 5, 2024, by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).
The Administrator’s plea follows requests from some prominent Rivers indigenes, who have called on President Bola Tinubu to halt the elections. Five Rivers residents had filed a lawsuit against the federal government, Ibas, and the state electoral commission, challenging the planned elections.
However, speaking on Friday, Ibas assured the public that all necessary arrangements had been made for a safe and peaceful election. He also encouraged residents to “go out and exercise their civic responsibility without fear or intimidation.”
He reiterated his administration’s firm commitment to transparency, staff welfare, and the successful completion of the ongoing staff verification exercise.
Ibas stressed that the timing of the elections was intentional, aimed at highlighting the link between accountable leadership and effective grassroots governance. “These elections are a significant step toward restoring democratic governance at the grassroots level. But leaders can only be held accountable when there is clarity on the human and material resources available to them,” Ibas explained.
The Administrator also touched on the ongoing comprehensive staff verification and biometric enrollment process designed to boost transparency and efficiency within the state and local government workforce. He shared promising results from the exercise so far, stating that “37,703 state staff have been verified, down from over 43,000. Additionally, 19,186 state pensioners have been verified, compared to a previous total of over 25,500. At the local government level, 2,004 pensioners and 8,000 staff across seven local government areas have been verified.”
Ibas set a target date of September 4, 2025, for completing the local government staff verification process, committing to utilize all state resources to meet this goal and underscoring the importance of the initiative.
Michael Odey, Chairman of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), outlined that the commission’s preparations are on track. “We have carefully integrated our plans into a clear timetable, and we are now in the implementation phase,” Odey explained. He emphasized that the commission had assessed the terrain of both riverine and upland local governments during preparations for the election.
Odey added that non-sensitive election materials had already been distributed to local government areas as of Thursday, with sensitive materials being delivered on Friday under tight security.
He reassured the public that ad hoc staff had been thoroughly trained and that the commission was fully committed to ensuring free, fair, and credible elections on Saturday.
At the same meeting, the State Commissioner of Police reassured the public of the police command’s dedication to maintaining safety and security throughout the elections. “Our operations reflect a broader strategy to dismantle criminal networks and foster public confidence in law enforcement, especially during the upcoming chairmanship and councilorship elections,” he stated.
