Why PDP, ADC are excluded from Rivers bye-election - INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has explained why the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Labour Party (LP) will not participate in the 21 February bye-election in two constituencies of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Rivers State, Gabriel Yomere, disclosed this on Friday during a meeting with security agencies at INEC’s office in Port Harcourt, Punch newspaper reported.

Mr Yomere said 12 candidates from seven political parties were cleared to contest the election.

“The nomination forms and the list of candidates that will participate in this election were received by us, and we have also made that public. It is of interest to tell the public that 12 candidates are participating in this election from seven political parties.

“Out of these 12 candidates, seven are participating in Ahoada East 2 Constituency, and five candidates are participating in Khana 2 Constituency.

“We have the AA, APC, APN, BP, NNPP, YPP and ZLP. These are the parties that will participate in the elections.”

Why PDP, ADC, LP were excluded

Mr Yomere said the excluded parties failed to meet key requirements, particularly the conduct and documentation of valid primaries.

“The issue of ADC, they participated in the primaries, but if you look at a clause in the primary, it states that they have to upload results to the INEC portal at headquarters within a given period, and they failed to do that. That’s why they were excluded. Nobody is interested in excluding them.

“Unfortunately, for the PDP, they said they did not even take part in the primaries. The Labour Party said they had litigation, which is why they were not here.”

Orange could not immediately contact the Rivers State PDP chairperson, Aaron Chukwuemeka, for comment, as he did not respond to calls from our reporter.

Constituencies for bye-election

The bye-election will hold in Ahoada East Constituency 2 and Khana Constituency 2.

The Ahoada East seat became vacant after Edison Ehie resigned from the House and was later appointed Chief of Staff to Governor Siminalayi Fubara following the collapse of a political peace deal between Mr Fubara and Nyesom Wike.

The Khana Constituency 2 seat became vacant after the lawmaker, Dinebari Loolo, died in September 2023, about four months after being sworn in.

Mr Yomere assured residents of a credible election and disclosed that all necessary preparations had been concluded.

He said movement of people would be restricted in the affected constituencies on election day, adding that Bi-modal Voter Accreditation System machines had been configured and non-sensitive materials received.

He also noted that only regular INEC staff — not ad hoc officials — would conduct the election.

Background: Rivers Assembly crisis

The bye-election comes amid prolonged political instability in the Rivers State House of Assembly, which descended into chaos during the power struggle between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Mr Wike.

The Assembly split into two rival factions — a majority loyal to Mr Wike and a smaller group backed by Mr Fubara. The crisis paralysed legislative activities for months before the Supreme Court later restored the Mr Wike-backed lawmakers as the legitimate members of the Assembly.

The 21 February bye-election is expected to fill the two vacant seats and slightly reshape the balance within the troubled legislature.