By Paul Williams
The Rivers State Local Government Elections Tribunal has began receiving petitions towards resolving candidates’ complaints arising from the conduct of the August 30 Local Government Council Elections in the state.
Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, had last week set up three election petitions tribunals, one for each of the three senatorial zones in the state, to hear the petitions.
A visit to the state High Court premises in Port Harcourt, the state capital, on Tuesday September 2, 2025, showed that the registry to the tribunal opened its doors to prospective petitioners “immediately after the results were declared on Sunday.”
As of the time of writing this report, Inside sources indicate “no petition has been received,” but prospective petitioners have been making inquiries as to the modalities for filing petitions.
According to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission Law, as amended by the Senate, the tribunal has one month to wrap up its business, while petitioners have one week out of ithis to file in their petition.
This, our source pointed out, contrasts with the earlier situation where the tribunal had three months to conclude its business, while filing of petitions took as much as one month.
Our correspondent spoke with a prospective petitioner, who expressed dismay at the provision for a security fee, which he said was placed at N5 million for councillor and chairmanship petitioners. Though we could not confirm this, we gathered that the fee was previously set at N1 million for each petitioners.
Meanwhile, the state has experienced an upbeat in commercial activities following the conclusion of the local government elections.
Commercial areas, such as Mile One, Eleme Junction and Oil Mill and others, witnessed a steady stream of pedestrians, motorists and buyers more than had been seen in the last few months of Emergency rule.
