Senator Adolphus Wabara, Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees, expressed deep concern over the party’s poor performance in the recent local government elections held in Rivers State on October 5. Wabara stated that the PDP has effectively lost control of the state, highlighting the party’s self-inflicted wounds as the root cause of its electoral defeat.
Governor Siminialayi Fubara administered the oath of office to the 23 newly elected local government chairmen, among whom 22 seats were won by the Action People’s Party (APP), while the Action Alliance (AA) secured the Etche local government chairmanship. The APP also dominated the councillorship elections, winning 314 out of 319 wards, with the All Progressive Congress (APC), Labour Party (LP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), and Young Peoples Party (YPP) each securing one ward.
Wabara criticized the PDP for ignoring valuable advice regarding the ongoing political crisis in Rivers State, attributing the party’s failure to internal conflicts. He lamented the unprecedented nature of the defeat, where a ruling party lost its grassroots support to a lesser-known political party.
The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), led by Justice Adolphus Enebeli (retd), reported that 18 political parties participated in the elections across 6,866 polling units, commending the commitment of the parties and the people of Rivers State to the democratic process.
In response to the election outcomes, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar praised Governor Fubara and the citizens of Rivers State for resisting political intimidation and proceeding with the local government elections. Additionally, former Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah (retd) congratulated the governor on the successful conduct of the elections, with the APP lauding Fubara for his leadership and fairness throughout the electoral process.
Despite the setbacks, Wabara affirmed his continued allegiance to the PDP, but acknowledged the pressing need for the party to address its internal issues to regain its position and influence in Rivers State politics