The Chairman of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Magnus Abe, has said that politics was never a theoretical phenomenon but a practical one involving physical people.
Abe said this on Saturday, June 20, 2026, shortly after casting his vote in the Rivers South-East Senatorial District Bye-election at his hometown, Bera Community in Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State.
“I keep telling people that the politics of Nigeria and the politics of Rivers State and the politics of Ogoni is not conducted on radio and social media.
It is conducted here in the communities where our people live and as you can see, they are very, very involved in the process and they know what is going on,” he remarked.
In a post-election interview, Abe disclosed that he voted the candidate of the rainbow coalition, and that the bye-election result reflects the impact of the rainbow coalition in Rivers State.
He noted that the people of Ogoni, in particular, and Rivers State in general are in tune with the Federal Government.
Abe then made an appeal to Nigerians to be patient with the policies of President Bola Tinubu, stating that fixing Nigeria and taking the country out of the myriad of challenges being encountered takes time.
“My assurance and my appeal to the people of Rivers State and indeed to all Nigerians is that they should ignore the gainsayers.”
“For the first time in the history of this country, we have a government that is actually facing the challenges that this country has endured for so long and looking for permanent and lasting solutions to those challenges. That process takes time,” he said.
The Ogoni born politician further explained that achieving meaningful progress in any society requires time, sacrifice, efforts, as well as a radical decision that has the future in view.
He asserted that President Tinubu has started the necessary process for transforming the country, adding that anyone who comes to promise quick fixes is only lying.
He tasked Nigerians to vote and ensure their votes are counted not withstanding their grievance toward the government, as that only is the solution to building a better Nigeria.
“Nigerians should continue to show faith in their country, vote as a citizen. Whether you agree with the government or not, go and cast your own vote and make sure the vote is counted and let us work together for a brighter future for our country,” he admonished.
He commended the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for its professionalism and improvement in enhancing the voting process in the election.
“INEC has improved considerably, its performance this morning was quite impressive, they came on time, the process is running smoothly.”
“I will want to urge Nigerians to show more faith in the process and turn out en-masse to cast their votes and ensure that their votes are counted,” he said.