Protests erupted at the Peoples Democratic Party secretariat in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Thursday, as tensions rise ahead of the Local Government election scheduled for October 5, 2024.

The protesters, who arrived in large numbers at the party’s secretariat, forced security operatives to step in to control the crowd and manage traffic congestion in the area, reports Channels Television.

The unrest follows growing concerns over the delay in the release of the 2023 Voters’ Register by the Independent National Electoral Commission to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission.

Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered a ruling on September 30, 2024, stating, “INEC was barred from releasing the voters’ register to RSIEC due to legal challenges.”

Despite the court ruling, Governor Siminalayi Fubara maintained that the election would go on as planned.

Fubara expressed confidence, citing the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling, which “mandated that all states in the federation must have democratically elected local government executives,” supports his position.

Former Vice President and 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has submitted a memorandum to the National Assembly, requesting an amendment to the Constitution to introduce a single six-year term for the President and state governors.

In a memorandum to the Senate Committee on Constitutional Review, Atiku also proposed that the presidency be rotated between the North and South.

It is noteworthy that during Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s presidency, he advocated for a six-year single term for the presidential seat.

Following the 2023 general elections, Atiku has continued to support this tenure proposal.

He stated, “The office of the President shall rotate among the six geopolitical zones of the federation on a single term of six years, flowing between the North and South on the single term of six years respectively.”

Atiku urged the National Assembly to “amend Section 135(2) to read: ‘Subject to the provisions of subsection (1), the President shall vacate his office at the expiration of a period of six years.’”

Additionally, he proposed the “substitution of an aspirant” in Section 285(14)(a) with “a voter.”

The former Vice President also suggested that the minimum educational qualification for a person to run for election should be the Ordinary National Diploma instead of the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination. He proposed an amendment to Section 65(2)(a) to read: “He has been educated up to at least Ordinary National Diploma in any recognised academic institution.”

Furthermore, he recommended the insertion of a paragraph in Section 65(2)(a)(i) to read: “Evidence of certificates of all educational qualifications of a candidate shall be submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission or an affidavit by the candidate in the event of loss of his/her educational certificates, qualifications obtained, and dates, stating the schools attended.”

Atiku also advocated for political parties to have more power in the candidate selection process. He proposed an “amendment to Section 65(2)(b) to read: ‘He is a member of a political party whose name is in the register to be made available by his political party to the Independent National Electoral Commission 30 days before the conduct of the political party’s primary and he is sponsored by that party.’”

Siminalayi Fubara, the governor of Rivers, has stated that no single individual can control the state.

The governor made this statement on Sunday during a thanksgiving service in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers.

On Saturday, the elders forum of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers state apologized to Nyesom Wike, the minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), over the ongoing rift between him and Fubara.

The PDP elders offered the apology at an event organized by the Ijaw Peoples Congress in honor of the FCT minister.

The party elders requested Wike’s forgiveness, attributing Fubara’s actions to a lack of political skill.

Wike, who also spoke at the event, took credit for making Fubara the governor of Rivers state.

While addressing the congregation at St. Paul Cathedral of the Anglican Communion, Fubara asserted that he doesn’t need anyone to apologize on his behalf.

Fubara remarked that he “cannot give his kidney” to demonstrate loyalty to Wike, further claiming that the FCT minister is “desperate for recognition.”

“Nobody can apologise for me. As a matter of fact, I belong to that school of thought that if I am the only person that needs to stand on that side of right, I will stand there. I don’t need anybody to stand with me. I cannot give my kidney or liver to anybody. I won’t. If that is the only reason for me to be loyal, I will not be,” Fubara said.

“But I will not do the wrong thing. I will stand for the side of the right. I will stand with the truth for Rivers people. That is my commitment today. I will not mortgage my kidney or my liver. So, don’t worry about that because I know that is what they do because they can’t talk.”

He continued, “If it has to take my kidney, then I will honourably just go back to my wife then we will manage ourselves. But I will not give my kidney. What is important is to protect this state. It does not belong to anyone. Rivers state is nobody’s enterprise. So, you have to stand strong.”

“God has a reason for allowing the devil or the evil one to stay long. It is not that he can’t take him or take them away but he gives them time to repent. And when they continue, he (God) will come heavily, and then, they would say, it would have been better we had left when they had time.

“That will be our story in this state. But, you see, anybody that is making noise for recognition, it is a sign that he has lost it. By the special grace of God, I don’t need an introduction. I have the name, and I am the one standing here.”

Wike and Fubara have been at odds over the control of the political structure of the PDP in Rivers state.

The dispute between the two politicians has caused a division within the party and among members of the state house of assembly.