The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and former Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, has regained political control in his home state after months of a bitter face-off with his successor, Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Wike reasserted his dominance on Saturday as the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) conducted fresh local government elections across the 23 local government areas.
The polls marked a turning point in the political crisis that had gripped the state. Last year, in the heat of the feud between both camps, Governor Fubara organised a controversial council election on October 4, 2024, in which his loyalists contesting under the Action Peoples Party (APP), swept 22 out of 23 chairmanship seats.
That victory, however, was short-lived. On February 28, 2025, the Supreme Court nullified the election following an appeal by the All Progressives Congress (APC), ruling the process invalid.
The latest exercise supervised by RSIEC effectively handed Wike an opportunity to reclaim the local government structure, thereby restoring his influence in Rivers politics.
