By Godwin Chukwumaechi, Port Harcourt
The governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has sworn in the 23 council chairmen who emerged victorious at Saturday’s local government election across the state.
The swearing-in ceremony, which took place on Sunday at the Executive Council Chambers, Government House, Port Harcourt, saw 22 council chairmen from the Action Peoples Party (APP) and one from the Action Alliance (AA) officially inaugurated into office.
The event was attended by notable dignitaries, including the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum, Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed.
Addressing the new council chairmen, Governor Fubara congratulated them on their electoral victories, reminding them to immediately assume their duties, focusing on improving the welfare of their local communities.
Hitherto little known Action Peoples Party (APP) clinched 22 out of the 23 local government areas, whose results were announced Saturday night by the chairman of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), Justice Adolphus Enebeli, while also little known Action Alliance (AA) secured one chairmanship seat (Etche LGA).
The election was reported to be predominantly peaceful across the various polling units despite a clear absence of the police and other security agencies, with only few unconfirmed skirmmishes reported at some areas.
Recall that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Tony Okocha-led faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in sympathy and solidarity with the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike, boycotted the elections with a large number of their supporters marching in protest in the city of Port Harcourt while the election was proceeding at the various local government areas.
They insisted that the election should not hold in compliance with the high court judgment which barred the RSIEC from conducting the election.
