Rivers Returns to the Polls: Fresh LG Elections After Supreme Court Nullification
Rivers State held fresh local government elections on Saturday, August 30, 2025, after the Supreme Court nullified the outcome of previous local government polls on February 28, 2025. The court had ruled that the earlier elections failed to follow due legal and constitutional processes.
With that judgment dissolving all sitting councils, the stage was set for this long-overdue return to popular representation.
Election outcome: the All Progressives Congress (APC) won 20 out of the 23 local government areas, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secured only three; all in areas seen as traditional PDP strongholds.
Observers say the polls were largely peaceful, though voter turnout was muted in some urban centers. Importantly, reports suggest the results followed an informal “sharing formula” agreement. Under that arrangement, ahead of the polls, both major parties agreed not to compete in certain LGAs; effectively dividing them to avoid prolonged conflict and confusion. The result was largely uncontested races in many areas, reinforcing the perception of predetermined outcomes.
