Peter Obi has condemned the conduct of the Rivers State local government election, describing it as “a desecration of democracy” and a dangerous precedent for governance in Nigeria.
The Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election stated this on Sunday, August 31, via his X handle.
Obi faulted the exercise, which was supervised by a sole administrator whose appointment has been the subject of controversy.
Obi argued that the process stripped the people of their constitutional right to choose their leaders and instead entrenched illegality.
He wrote: “Rivers LG Election: A Mockery of Democracy
“The conduct of the Rivers State local Government election is rascality taken too far. It represents a double tragedy for our democracy when a Sole Administrator – himself illegally appointed – dares to conduct an election that should empower the people. This is not democracy; it is the outright desecration of its very foundation.
“Such actions are unconstitutional, legally untenable, and morally indefensible. They send a dangerous message that the rule of law can be discarded at the whim of those in power.
“But the truth remains unshaken: illegality can never give birth to legitimacy. Any structure erected on a foundation of lawlessness is a danger to both the state and the people.
“Nigeria cannot afford to continue on this perilous path. We cannot pretend to practise democracy while silencing the will of the people – especially at the grassroots, where democracy matters most.
“If we truly seek progress, we must uphold the sanctity of the ballot, safeguard the people’s right to choose, and insist that leadership at every level flows from their mandate – not from contraptions that mock democracy. Only then will governance have meaning, and only then can the sacred bond of trust between leaders and the people be restored.”
