The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has disclosed that President Bola Tinubu does not intend to extend the emergency rule currently in place in Rivers State.
Wike made this known on Monday during his monthly media briefing in Abuja, where he addressed the political situation in Rivers, including the legality of the emergency rule and the upcoming local government elections scheduled for August 30.
He explained that the President’s main objective is to ensure the restoration of democratic governance at the local government level, rather than prolonging federal intervention in the state.
“The President, in his wisdom to bring peace and restore democratic governance in local government, came again with another regulation which was in July that this election must be conducted within 30 days, because the President from my understanding does not want to extend the emergency rule,” Wike said.
He emphasized that extending the emergency rule would not be acceptable to the people of Rivers and would further complicate governance, particularly at the local level.
Wike noted that without the election, local governments would be unable to access funds from the Federation Account, and governors would be restricted from appointing caretaker committees due to Supreme Court rulings. This, he said, would create a governance vacuum.
He clarified that the President, under emergency powers, has made modifications to certain sections of the Electoral Act 2022 to allow the local government elections to proceed.
Responding to criticisms and legal challenges over the emergency rule and electoral process, Wike criticized what he described as “television advocates,” stressing that legal issues should be pursued in court, not just discussed in the media.
He also dismissed suggestions that the upcoming local elections would be skewed in favor of his loyalists, stating that assumptions about his influence are speculative and not based on legal or electoral outcomes.
Wike reiterated that the emergency rule was necessary to enable access to funding and maintain governance, warning that in the absence of elections and without proper structures, local government administration would face a constitutional and financial deadlock.
