The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has asked political parties to boycott the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission’s (RSIEC) scheduled August 30 local councils elections in Rivers State.

“It’s illegal, unconstitutional and a mockery of our emerging democracy. It’s unacceptable and should be rejected by all lovers of constitutional governance in Nigeria,” the statement read.

Mr Dantalle said the sole administrator has no constitutional mandate to conduct a democratic election because Nigeria is not under a military regime.

He alleged that only an elected governor has the constitutional power to conduct an LG election in collaboration with the state house of assembly.

“The sole administrator cannot arrogate to himself powers in flagrant violation of the 1999 constitution, as amended.

“The sole administrator is not an emperor with absolute power to rule as he pleases.

“Accordingly, IPAC directs all political parties not to participate in the charade and sham called local government election in Rivers State on Saturday, 30th August 2025”, the IPAC chairman said.

Mr Dantalle criticised the political party chairpersons in Rivers backing the election, characterising them as “fake”.

“Gathering political hirelings who claimed to be chairmen of their political parties in Rivers State to endorse the conduct of the purported local government election smacks of desperation by the sole administrator.

“Fake state chairmen cannot give legitimacy to gross illegality, unconstitutionality and abuse of office”, he said.

In a letter dated August 1 and addressed to President Bola Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Tajudeen Abbas, Speaker of the House of Representatives; Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); Kayode Egbetokun, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP); and Adeola Ajayi, Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), IPAC said no LG election should hold in Rivers State until democratic order is restored in the state.

IPAC said it will “explore other legitimate means to ventilate our grievances and concerns” if its request is disregarded.

A member of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Dayo Israel, has disclosed that the party is broke and is relying on the Presidency, governors and other elected officials to fund its activities ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Mr Israel, the APC National Youth Leader, made the revelation on Wednesday in Abuja at the newly established Youth Resource Centre, designed to mobilise young and female voters for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.

The Tide source reports that the APC had in recent months generated significant revenue from the sale of expression of interest and nomination forms for various elections. In February, the party raised N350 million from governorship aspirants in Anambra State, with nomination forms priced at N40 million and expression of interest forms at N10 million, respectively.

Similarly, ahead of the 2026 FCT Area Councils elections, the party fixed its chairmanship forms at N20 million and councillorship forms at N2.5 million. For last year’s Edo governorship election, each aspirant paid N50 million, generating at least N600 million for the party.

In the 2023 off-season governorship elections in Kogi, Bayelsa and Imo states, the APC made over N1.3 billion from form sales. During the 2023 general elections, the party reportedly earned more than N29 billion from aspirants nationwide, with presidential forms pegged at N100 million, governorship at N50 million, senatorial at N20 million and House of Representatives at N10 million, respectively.

Despite these revenues, Mr Israel said the party’s coffers were dry.

“Of course, it’s going to cost money,” he told reporters.

“Here at the resource centre, we need to pool our resources. We have to raise funds personally to even start what we’re doing here. We all know that the party doesn’t have money. We know that the party has to rely on the government, the administration, the president and our governors to support us. That is the reality.

“The party doesn’t generate income apart from maybe during elections, and it has a lot of overhead and other expenses. So there is a lot for us to do. I can tell you that this year, the youth wing has not received one naira from our mother party in any form.

“But we are young people, creative and innovative. We have a duty to support the president, who has appointed many of us into positions. We have to show appreciation by working together to help him, because he cannot do everything alone. We hope that as we impact more lives, we will attract more support for the president and the party”, he said.

When contacted, APC National Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, described Mr Israel’s remarks as an internal matter that should not be “overflogged”.

 

The Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) has lambasted the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) for playing political games with local government matters in Osun State.

The group, in a statement by its state coordinator and secretary, Alfred Adegoke and Kola Ibrahim, made available to journalists in Osogbo on Wednesday, said the continued shutdown of local government activities shows the anti-people character of the APC led Federal government and the PDP led state government.

It, therefore, called for the immediate resumption of local government activities, the release of withheld local government allocations, and a new, properly conducted election.

Noting that the shutdown of the local government administration has affected governance at the local level, DSM stated that people can no longer access essential services rendered by the local government.

“The shutdown is a sequel to the attempt by the former local government executives under the administration of former governor, Gboyega Oyetola, to return to office.

“The Ademola Adeleke/PDP government in Osun State, rather than take bold steps to defend the Osun State people and its local governments by calling out the illegality being sponsored and supported by the federal government through the federal attorney general, is preoccupied with declaring support for President Tinubu ahead of the 2027 elections, all in a bid not to rock the boat.

“We totally condemn the prostration of the Osun State government to the illegal action of the federal government, and we demand that the state government take proactive measures to defend and protect the interest of the people and the local government administration.

“The continued paralysis of the local government administration in Osun State has further shown that the two main ruling parties, the APC and the PDP, are not interested in any democracy or even a pretence to it. They are ready to castrate the local government just to satisfy their pecuniary political interests.

“The APC is holding the local government system to ransom in order to undermine the Adeleke government in preparation for the 2026 elections. On the other hand, the Adeleke government is trying to court President Tinubu and seek his favour towards the 2026 gubernatorial election, even if this means sacrificing the local government system.

“The recent rumour of Governor Adeleke’s joining the APC, and the subsequent official statement of the PDP in Osun State declaring support for Tinubu’s second term, are indicative of a resolve not to rock the boat, even when the Adeleke government has a judicial edge over the APC on the local government matter.

“Rather than take the federal government up legally, the Adeleke government actually withdrew a matter earlier filed at the Supreme Court challenging the continued withholding of local government funds.

“It is obvious that the Adeleke government is not prepared to take any serious action to restore the local government administration, while the APC is prepared to wreck the state, as long as it would guarantee them power come 2026,” the group said.

We totally condemn the prostration of the Osun State government to the illegal action of the federal government, and we demand that the state government take proactive measures to defend and protect the interest of the people and the local government administration.

“The continued paralysis of the local government administration in Osun State has further shown that the two main ruling parties, the APC and the PDP, are not interested in any democracy or even a pretence to it. They are ready to castrate the local government just to satisfy their pecuniary political interests.

“The APC is holding the local government system to ransom in order to undermine the Adeleke government in preparation for the 2026 elections. On the other hand, the Adeleke government is trying to court President Tinubu and seek his favour towards the 2026 gubernatorial election, even if this means sacrificing the local government system.

“The recent rumour of Governor Adeleke’s joining the APC, and the subsequent official statement of the PDP in Osun State declaring support for Tinubu’s second term, are indicative of a resolve not to rock the boat, even when the Adeleke government has a judicial edge over the APC on the local government matter.

“Rather than take the federal government up legally, the Adeleke government actually withdrew a matter earlier filed at the Supreme Court challenging the continued withholding of local government funds.