The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RISIEC, has scheduled the local government elections in the state for August 9, 2025.
Chairman of the commission, Retired Justice Adolphus Enebeli, made the remark during a stakeholders meeting in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
Mr Enebeli who unveiled the election guidelines official during the meeting, said that the commencement of the election process was due to the Supreme Court’s invalidation of Oct. 5, 2024 LG election.
He said that the political parties that would field candidates in the election must complete and submit an Expression of Interest Form on or before Monday, April 24 and May 12, 2025 to be eligible to participate.
He further said that the election campaign would commence from July, 2025 and end on August 7, 2025.
Mr Enebeli said that candidates were required to the compulsory sum of N5, 000 for the position of a councillor while N10 000 would be paid for Chairman and Vice Chairmanship positions.
He however said that the rulings of the Supreme Court must be obeyed by all Nigerians, including the electoral body.
According to him, we are unavoidably and painfully plunged into a restart, but as a responsible law-abiding statutory body, we must demonstrate our fidelity and obedience to the rule of law.
‘’This setback is our ineluctable phase right now; in a philosophically speaking, in the affairs of man and society in history, it says and I quote;
‘’A setback is a set up for a come back, do not let failure stop you. Let it be the road you need to succeed.
‘’A come back is always stronger than a set back and every set back is an opportunity to learn and grow.
Mr Enebeli however stated that ‘’setback can inspire all of us to restart and move forward and become stronger and more successful than before.
‘’The great the challenge face by man the more triumphant he is,’’ he said.
Mr Enebeli, however, assured the people of transparency of the election and requested the cooperation of stakeholders to ensure a successful election.