Rivers stakeholders warn President Tinubu that planned LG elections breach Nigeria’s Constitution and threaten democracy
A coalition of prominent Rivers State indigenes, under the banner Major Stakeholders, has written an open letter to President Bola Tinubu condemning the planned August 30, 2025, local government elections in the state, describing them as unconstitutional and a “serious threat to democracy.”
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The signatories including Atedo Peterside, Celestine Omehia, Tonye Cole, Prince Uche Secondus, Chief Abiye Sekibo, Senator Lee Maeba, Dr Dakuku Peterside, and Engr Tele Ikuru allege that the polls are being orchestrated by a federally appointed “Sole Administrator” without constitutional authority.
They cited multiple breaches of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) Law, 2018, including the absence of a legally constituted RSIEC, failure to give the mandatory 90-day election notice, and disregard for ongoing court cases challenging the legality of the electoral process.
The group argued that Section 7(1) of the 1999 Constitution gives state governments not federal agents exclusive powers to conduct local polls, warning that the planned elections mirror the 2024 vote annulled by the Supreme Court for procedural violations.
They further claimed that Rivers is already in a constitutional crisis, with its executive and legislative arms suspended by the Federal Government, and that holding LG elections under such conditions undermines the federal system.
“This is nothing short of an existential assault on our democracy,” the letter stated, calling on Tinubu, the National Assembly, the judiciary, civil society, and the international community to stop the process.
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Other signatories include Prince Fafaa Dan Princewill, Engr Bekinbo Dagogo Jack, Amb. Oji Ngofa, Dr Austin Tam-George, Donu Kogbara, Ann-Kio Briggs, and several former public officials.
