Political Parties To Boycott Rivers LG Elections

The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), the umbrella body of all registered political parties in Nigeria, has announced a collective boycott of the upcoming local government elections in Rivers State, scheduled for August 30, 2025.

In a strongly worded statement issued by IPAC national chairman, Dr. Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, the council described the planned election as “illegal, unconstitutional, and a mockery of Nigeria’s democracy,” stating that no political party under its platform will participate in what it called “a charade and a sham.”

IPAC argued that the Rivers State Sole Administrator lacks the constitutional authority to conduct democratic elections, stating that only an elected governor, in collaboration with the State House of Assembly, has such powers under the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

“The sole administrator is not an emperor with absolute power to rule,” the statement read. “The state of emergency was declared to restore peace and order amid a prolonged political crisis in Rivers State — not to create a parallel system of governance or conduct elections.”

According to IPAC, any attempt to proceed with the elections under the current circumstances amounts to an abuse of office and a dangerous precedent for constitutional governance.

The Council also condemned what it described as the gathering of “political hirelings” parading as state party chairmen to endorse the proposed election, saying such endorsements lack legitimacy and reflect “desperation by the Sole Administrator.”

IPAC disclosed that it had formally communicated its opposition in a letter dated August 1, 2025, addressed to the Sole Administrator and copied to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Director General of the Department of State Services, and the Inspector General of Police.

The Council warned that going ahead with the election under these conditions would make a “caricature” of Nigeria’s constitutional democracy and democratic institutions.

Reaffirming its commitment to the rule of law and the consolidation of democratic governance, IPAC called on Nigerians — especially patriots, civil society groups, and other stakeholders — to rise in defence of constitutional order.

“We urge citizens, patriots, men and women of goodwill to join us in condemning this obvious hijack of the political system by anti-democratic forces,” Dr. Dantalle said. “Together, we will build a strong, virile, progressive, prosperous, egalitarian, and just democratic society.”