Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, on Saturday, hinted that the state of emergency in Rivers State will expire on September 18.
Wike, who spoke after casting his vote in the ongoing local government election in Rivers State, said that, with the expiration, the Rivers State Assembly is expected to resume its duties.
It could be recalled that amid the political crisis in the state, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers.
Consequently, Governor Sim Fubara, his deputy, and the State House of Assembly were all suspended for a period of six months, which will end September 18.
Speaking told journalists that: "As far as we are concerned, this election is peaceful, people are trooping out and at the end of the day the election has been conducted successfully and peacefully.
"I do know that by September 18, the state of emergency will expire and the state assembly will come back to their job and we will have a government at the grassroots level.”
“The coast is clear for the state of emergency to be lifted, being that the state government has its representative and the local government has its representatives, so we are good to go."
He also spoke on the LP polls, hailing the peaceful conduct of the exercise.
He had this to say: "I want to thank RSIEC for carrying out a successful conduct of local government elections.
“Let me make it clear that this is a local government election and I expect particularly the media to have done their homework very well in knowing where the residential areas and commercial areas are.
"When you go to commercial areas, you don't expect a large turnout of people but when you go to residential areas, of course, you expect people to turn out.
"This is my community, I can see the turn out of people in this particular unit, so it is in other units.
"But If you go to where you have commercial activities, you don't expect much people."
NATIONAL POST recalls that the Supreme Court, as part of its judgement on the Rivers crisis, nullified the earlier council polls conducted by Fubara.
It also ordered allocation meant for the councils be withheld pending when the election is conducted.
