The African Democratic Congress has criticised the just-concluded local government elections in Rivers State, describing them as a mockery of democracy.
The party said the voter apathy experienced in the poll was an outright rejection of what it termed ‘flagrant disrespect for democratic norms’.
The ADC, in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Tuesday by its state chairman, Leader Sampson, said the outcome of the election won’t stand.
According to the statement sent to newsmen, Sampson said the ADC did not take part in the August 30th elections because it recognises the illegality of the process, and expressed its readiness to challenge the outcome in Court.
The statement partly reads, “The African Democratic Congress, Rivers State Chapter, strongly condemns the charade called the Local Government Election, purportedly conducted on Saturday, August 30, 2025.
“The exercise was not only illegal and unconstitutional, but it also represents a brazen assault on democracy. It cannot and will not stand.
“This so-called election is nothing more than an attempt by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to impose his handpicked candidates on the people of Rivers State.
“We reject this desperate act of political manipulation. The absence of Rivers people from the polls was a thunderous and commendable rejection of this flagrant disrespect for democratic norms.
“As a law-abiding political party, the ADC refused to participate in this sham process. We will challenge its illegality to a logical conclusion.”
The party continued, “We recall that during the national bye-elections earlier this year, INEC failed to conduct elections in Rivers State—specifically in Khana Constituency 2 on the grounds that the State was under emergency rule and therefore unsafe.
“If INEC, with its national mandate and resources, could not conduct a single constituency election under these conditions, how then could RSIEC claim to conduct elections across all 23 LGAs of Rivers State under the same so-called emergency?
The party said the development is a ‘glaring contradiction which allegedly exposes the fraud that characterised the process.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu himself, recognising the unlawfulness of the exercise, suspended parts of the Constitution midway through the process.
“This amounts to changing the rules in the middle of the game—an unacceptable and dangerous precedent in any democracy,” Sampson observed.
While noting that Rivers State has been under siege, the ADC chairman added, “Our dear state has been reduced to the playground of self-serving politicians: from the unlawful state of emergency, to the removal of a democratically-elected governor, to this mockery of an election.
“The will of our people has been trampled upon repeatedly, but Rivers people have spoken with one voice: enough is enough! This is not a minor aberration; it is a grievous blow to Nigeria’s democratic journey. It is a clear demonstration of how far desperate politicians are willing to go to cling to power.
“We therefore call on Nigerians everywhere to recognise this as a wake-up call. The enemies of democracy cannot be allowed to win.
“The people of Rivers State remain resolute and will continue to resist until our rights are restored and democracy is secured against corruption, tyranny, and abuse of power.”
The party urged its members and all lovers of democracy to remain steadfast and resolute.
“This brazen subversion of democracy will be met with equal determination.
“We will fight for our freedom. We will fight for our future. We will fight for the soul of Rivers State,” he said.
PUNCH Online had reported that APC emerged victorious in a landslide victory in the Saturday Rivers State local government elections, securing 20 out of the 23 LGAs.
The Chairman, Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission,Michael Odey, announced the results at the commission’s Headquarters along Aba Road in Port Harcourt on Sunday afternoon.
According to Odey, the PDP managed to clinch the remaining three LGAs.