The results of the August 2025 local government elections in Rivers State are under threat. A High Court judge has demanded that several top council officials justify their positions following claims that their nominations were illegal from the start.
The Chairmen and councillors of three major local governments (Obio/Akpor, PH City, and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni) have been joined as defendants in the suit.
The lawsuit claims that the PDP meetings (congresses) held in 2024 to pick party leaders were already set aside by a court. Therefore, any actions taken by those leaders—like picking candidates for the LG polls—are being challenged as invalid.
The plaintiffs want the court to stop the current party leadership from interfering in the nomination of future candidates and to declare the 2025 election results in these areas "null and void."
Because the officials have been hard to reach, the judge allowed "substituted service," meaning the legal warning can be delivered to their party office instead of to them personally.
