You Cannot Get Legitimacy From Illegality”—Rivers ”LGA Election Under Fire as Top Lecturer Slams Planned Poll as ‘Constitutional Travesty’
You Cannot Get Legitimacy From Illegality”—Rivers ”LGA Election Under Fire as Top Lecturer Slams Planned Poll as ‘Constitutional Travesty’
Port Harcourt, Rivers State – As the Local Government Area (LGA) election on August 30, 2025, draws near, prominent lecturer Dr. Goodluck Nwobike KSC fcifc is making his voice heard—and he’s not mincing words!
In a compelling public statement from Port Harcourt, Dr. Nwobike labeled the upcoming LGA elections under the contentious Sole Administrator as “a serious violation of constitutional order and a democratic disgrace.”
He cautions that illegitimacy cannot yield legitimacy, asserting that conducting an election during a political emergency, under an unelected official, goes against every democratic principle we hold dear.
He connects the current turmoil to the confrontations on October 30, 2023, and December 11, 2023, between Rivers citizens and the State House of Assembly, which threw the state into disarray and allowed anti-democratic elements to seize control.
Quoting the esteemed Prof. Wole “Soyinka—”Elections are not just about voting; they are about the integrity of the process and the trust of the ”people”—Nwobike emphasized that no election conducted under these circumstances can gain the trust of the populace.
Across Nigeria, legal experts and politicians are rallying behind his viewpoint:
Dr. Rotimi Olawale, a Political Analyst, referred to it as a “constitutional travesty.” Hon. Ezeh Onyekachi, a former lawmaker, criticized the action as “blatant overreach.”
INEC has also expressed concerns regarding RSIEC’s non-compliance with electoral law, further undermining the legitimacy of the process.
The people of Rivers State are being urged to stand against what many are now dubbing a “masquerade election”—one “that seems more focused on solidifying power than genuinely returning it to the citizens.
Dr. Nwobike is calling for an immediate stop to the upcoming election, emphasizing that only by fully restoring constitutional governance and reinstating Governor Sim Fubara’s authority can the state avoid a democratic crisis.
The message is straightforward: Elections need to be free, fair, legal, and transparent. Anything short of that is a betrayal of democracy.
