The suspended Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, and his loyalists were conspicuously absent on Saturday during the chairmanship and councillorship elections across the state.
According to reports, Fubara, who hails from Opobo Local Government Area, did not show up at his polling unit in Ward 5, despite voting activities being conducted on a limited scale.
Key political allies, including his Chief of Staff, Edison Ehie, Secretary to the State Government, Tammy Danagogo, and the recently sacked 23 local government chairmen, also stayed away from the exercise. Members of the Simplified Movement, the political group backing Fubara, were equally missing at polling centers.
Electoral materials reportedly arrived at Fubara’s polling unit around 11 a.m., raising expectations that he might appear to cast his ballot—especially after his recent reconciliation with his political mentor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike. However, as polls closed at about 3:30 p.m., the embattled governor was nowhere to be found.
It was later gathered that Fubara, who is due for reinstatement on September 18, had traveled to London ahead of the elections and did not return in time to participate in the voting exercise.
The absence has fueled fresh political speculations about the governor’s next moves and the state’s political alignment ahead of his reinstatement.
