By Matthew Atungwu | September 1, 2025
Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has strongly condemned the recently concluded local government elections in Rivers State, branding the exercise as nothing short of a “mockery of democracy.”
Obi, who took to his official X (formerly Twitter) handle late Sunday, decried the conduct of the poll, describing it as “rascality taken too far” and a “double tragedy” for Nigeria’s fragile democracy.
According to the former Anambra State governor, the elections, which were reportedly supervised by a Sole Administrator illegally appointed by the state government, amounted to a desecration of democratic values and a deliberate assault on the Nigerian constitution.
> “When a Sole Administrator, illegally appointed, conducts an election that should empower the people, it is not democracy but outright desecration of its very foundation,” Obi declared.
He emphasized that such acts are not only unconstitutional and legally untenable but also morally indefensible.
The Labour Party stalwart warned that these brazen violations of democratic principles send a dangerous message to citizens—that the rule of law can be discarded at the whims of those in power.
> “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,” Obi cautioned.
Calling for a return to the ideals of true democracy, Obi stressed that Nigeria cannot afford to continue on its current perilous path, where the will of the people is trampled upon, particularly at the grassroots level where democracy should thrive the most.
> “We cannot pretend to practise democracy while silencing the will of the people – especially at the grassroots, where democracy matters most,” he added.
Obi’s remarks have further fueled the ongoing national debate on electoral credibility, governance, and the urgent need to strengthen Nigeria’s democratic institutions against manipulation and abuse.
PIONEER NEWS 