FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has stated that President Bola Tinubu is not planning to extend the emergency rule in Rivers State, emphasizing the urgency of conducting local government elections scheduled for August 30.
Speaking during his monthly press briefing in Abuja on Monday, Wike said that while emergency rule allowed the President to make legal modifications, including adjustments to the Electoral Act 2022, extending such rule would not sit well with Rivers residents.
“The President…does not want to extend the emergency rule,” Wike explained.
“Extending the emergency rule will not be palatable to the people.”
Wike clarified that Tinubu supported the LG election as a pathway to restore democratic governance at the grassroots, following the temporary suspension of Governor Sim Fubara and the declaration of a state of emergency in the state.
He warned that failure to conduct the elections would stall local governments’ access to funds from the Federation Account, as the Supreme Court has ruled that governors cannot appoint caretaker committees to replace elected officials.
“If they don’t do that election now and the governor comes, he will give notice of one year by the Supreme Court judgment… They can’t access funds, and that will create a crisis.”
Wike also defended the legality of the emergency rule and dismissed claims that his loyalists would dominate the upcoming elections.
“I don’t know who has defined who my loyalists are,” he said.
“You people are used to television advocates. With all due respect, where you advocate law is not on television, it’s in the courtroom.”
He stressed that emergency rule was essential in allowing local governments to function temporarily, and questioned how states and LGs would have survived without it.
“Assuming there is no emergency rule, would local governments have accessed funds today? Certainly not. The emergency rule becomes imperative.”
Wike’s remarks come amid continued political tension in Rivers State, with the federal government seeking to stabilize governance at the local level ahead of a full return to democratic processes.
