Governor Siminalayi Fubara has sworn in 23 newly elected local government chairmen in Rivers State.
The exercise held at the Executive Council Chambers of the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital, on Sunday, comes a day after the Rivers State Independent National Electoral Commission (RSIEC) conducted an election at the grassroots.
The event was attended by Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, who is also the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum.
The governor expressed joy at the success of the LG election, saying it takes the help of God to survive the past few days.
He also appreciated President Bola Tinubu for being a democrat.
Fubara, who assured Mohammed that he is still a member of PDP, however, said that a desperate situation requires desperate action. According to him, what his administration did with the support of the people was to salvage the local government councils.
He said he would not go in the ways of his opponent by being confrontational to protect the assets of the state and cause a breakdown of law and order.
He advised the new chairmen to see themselves as servants and not emperors.
He said the local government areas need development and charged them to work for the people who are the real political structure.
Earlier on Sunday, RSIEC issued certificates of return to the newly elected local government chairmen.
After an exercise held amid heightened tension, the Action People’s Party (APP) won 22 chairmanship positions out of 23 in the oil-rich state.
However, the state electoral umpire suspended the declaration of results for Etche Local Government Area (LGA) because the collation is ongoing.
The RSIEC chairman, Adolphus Enebeli, who declared the result on Saturday, also said that announcement for the 319 councillorship seats will be announced alongside that of the Etche Chairmanship position when collations are concluded.
But a day after the election, RSIEC declared Uzodinma Nwafor of the Action Alliance (AA) as the winner of the election in Etche Local Government Area.
He described the election as free, fair, and credible, despite all odds. According to him, polls were closed at 3 pm and recorded a large turnout of voters.
Enebeli saluted the patriotism of the residents who turned out to vote.
The declaration of the results was observed by members of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), chairmen of the state’s independent electoral bodies across the country, and members of the Nigerian Bar Association who acted as observers in the polls.
He said the commission “adopted the principle of bi-location because of the exigencies” they found themselves.