The weekend local government elections in Rivers State didn’t just end with a count of ballots, they ended with a clear message: the All Progressives Congress (APC) is no longer content with being an opposition whisper in the state, it has turned itself into a force. Out of 23 LGAs, APC scooped 20, leaving the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gasping with just three.
This result doesn’t look like an accident. It looks like the birth of a new political reality in Rivers.
Fubara loses his own backyard
The most humiliating blow came right at Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s doorstep. His own Opobo-Nkoro LGA, his supposed political fortress, slipped away to the APC. Losing control of your backyard in Nigerian politics is never a small matter, it is a loud statement. When a governor cannot even secure his home turf, the political questions write themselves.
PDP’s worst nightmare
For years, Rivers has been a PDP stronghold, a dependable fortress in every election cycle. But the Saturday results showed cracks in that wall. PDP didn’t just lose; it was humbled. Winning only three LGAs in a state it once dominated is not a slip, it is a fall.
And the painful part? The defeat wasn’t delivered by a coalition of parties, but almost entirely by one opponent: the APC.
A warning shot before 2027
Make no mistake, this isn’t just about local government chairmen and councillors. This is about 2027. APC has just used Rivers to send a warning shot. If they can dismantle PDP at the grassroots, then the road to dismantling PDP at the top is already being paved.
Grassroots politics in Nigeria is where real power begins. The ward councillor today is the House of Assembly member tomorrow, and possibly a federal legislator the day after. APC seems to understand that, PDP looks like it forgot.
