Principal of APC School, Tonye Cole, Errors in the Election of Rivers’s Local Council

Tonye Cole, a former candidate for the Governor of the Congress of All Progressive (APC) in the State of Rivers, on Sunday, criticized the scheduling of local government elections in the state for August 30, describing the time in question and potentially invalid.

In July, the Rivers State Independent Election Commission (RSIEC) announced the date of voting, almost two months before the end of the term of office of Ibok-Ete Iba, the only state administrator.

The only administrator was appointed in March by the President of Bola Tinubu after the suspension of Governor Siminaayi Fubara, his deputy, and legislative arm for six months, following the protracted political crisis in the state. The term Ibas is expected to disappear in September.

Speaking of today’s politics, a television program channel, Cole urged the election body to postpone the election until the start of the selected state government, warning that the process under the current arrangement can cause legitimacy problems.

“The term single administrator, which is six months, will soon end. Next month, it will be done,” Cole said.

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“What I suggest is that we let it go at that time because, in the first example, peace has been made between the Siminalayi Governor and his political opponents, Nyesom Wike. If peace is original, the governor will soon return to the office, and the election can then be carried out under a legitimate government.”

Cole also questioned the reasons behind the polls for only a month before the term single administrator ended, showing that it could be part of a broader political calculation.

“This hurry puts everyone in an uncomfortable position,” he said. “Does that mean Governor Fubara will not return? Is there an extension planned? Or is there a lack of trust in him? There is something wrong, and I don’t believe this process.”

The previous Rivers LG election was canceled by the Supreme Court in February, after the court decided that the training of October 5, 2024, which was carried out under the Fubara government, failed to meet the requirements set in section 150 (3) Election Law.