Lawmakers of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday launched a protest in Rivers State against the scheduled local government elections in the state.
Naija News reports that the Rivers State government, led by Governor Siminalaya Hubala, announced the local government chairperson and municipal council elections on October 5.
While the powerful PDP and APC are embroiled in court cases as a result of the national crisis, the All People’s Party (APP) is positioning itself as the party to win local government elections.
In the PDP, the political crisis between Governor Hubala and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike resulted in inconclusive results in the state assembly as each faction convened parliament to elect state executives. It became.
Wike and Hubala factions have gone to court over which faction holds the leadership of the PDP chapter in the state. Although the national leadership of the PDP is yet to bring the two political gladiators to an agreement on the path of peace, following the court ruling, none of the factions will be able to participate in the local government elections.
The main opposition party, APC, is also embroiled in a leadership crisis between the Emeka Beke-led faction and the Tony Okocha-led faction.
Naija News reports that the Beke-led faction has written to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) expressing its intention to participate in the October 5 elections.
Beke said Governor Nunobara’s insistence that the election must be held on October 5, contrary to the court’s ruling in favor of the Okocha-led faction, was in line with the Supreme Court ruling.
With the two major political parties vying for leadership, most of the state’s caretaker chairmen have opted for an APP-based election format.
