Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has declared Thursday, October 3, and Friday, October 4, as public holidays to enable residents travel to their communities and participate in the upcoming Local Government elections scheduled for Saturday, October 5, 2024.
In a statewide broadcast from the Government House in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, Fubara announced a restriction on vehicular movement from midnight on Friday, October 4, until 5:00 pm on election day.
He explained that the measures were necessary to ensure smooth and peaceful elections.
Fubara outlined the rationale behind the local government elections, noting that the tenures of the chairmen and councillors of the 23 local government councils expired on June 17, 2023.
“I lawfully constituted caretaker committees to temporarily administer the 23 local government areas pending when the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC, would conduct the elections,” he said.
He referenced the Supreme Court’s July 11, 2024 judgment, which prohibited the administration of local governments by unelected officers, and ordered an immediate halt to statutory allocations for such councils.