RIVERS State Governor Similanayi Fubura on Wednesday, October 2, declared that the (Rivers) State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) would proceed with the conduct of the local government area election scheduled for Saturday, October 5.
He consequently declared Thursday, October 3 and Friday, October 4, public holidays to allow residents to travel to their communities and vote candidates of their choice.
The ICIR reports that the governor’s decision is at variance with Monday, September 30, order by the Federal High Court presided over by Peter Lifu.
Lifu had barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing voters’ registers to RSIEC.
The court also stopped the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the State Security Service (SSS) from providing security during the election scheduled for Saturday, October 5, 2024.
The judge, Peter Lifu, issued the order on a lawsuit filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
A team of lawyers, including Joseph Daudu, Sebastine Hon, and Ogwu James Onoja, all senior advocates, represented the APC.
Lifu ruled that the RSIEC erred in scheduling the poll for October 5, 2024, without adhering to the necessary laws governing the election.
The judge ruled that RSIEC failed to publish the mandatory 90-day notice before setting the election date and didn’t complete the update and revision of the voter register, violating the local government election conduct law.
Fubara says Supreme Court ruling on LGAs autonomy backs election
The governor in a state broadcast on the election, scheduled for Saturday, October 5, announced a total restriction on vehicular and human movements across the state from midnight on Friday until 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.
The decision came as the tenure of the current caretaker committees managing the state’s 23 LGAs ended, following a Supreme Court ruling mandating democratically elected officers to oversee the councils. The ruling also guaranteed autonomy for all LGAs in the country.
Fubara also revealed that RSIEC was already in possession of the voters register which the Federal High Court barred INEC from releasing.
“On the strength of these positive developments, I directed the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) to take definite steps to conduct local government elections for the 23 local Government Councils of Rivers State.
“Acting per this directive, the RSIEC has since fixed and concluded all arrangements to conduct the Local Government Council election on Saturday 5th October 2024.
“The legal impetus of RSIEC to conduct the local government elections was further strengthened by the judgment of the Rivers State High Court in Suit No: PHC/2696/CS/2024 delivered on the 4th of September 2024, which positively directed the Governor of Rivers State, the Government of Rivers State and the RSIEC to conduct the scheduled local government elections on the 5th of October 2025, using the 2023 Independent National Electoral Commission’s Voters Register already in the custody of RSIEC,” he said.
According to him, the state election commission has expressed and demonstrated verifiable capacity and readiness to conduct the elections on October 5, 2024.
While highlighting the importance of adhering to the Supreme Court’s ruling, Fubara noted that failure to hold elections would result in the loss of federal allocations for the councils.
He said LGAs in Nigeria with unelected officers risk being denied their statutory allocations, and the state’s 23 LGAs could lose such funds if it failed to hold the poll.
Fubara assured that his government had provided the necessary funds and logistics to RSIEC, which it said had restated its readiness to conduct and deliver a fair, free, and credible election.
While urging all registered voters to participate in the election, he stressed that security personnel would be at every polling unit to maintain order and ensure peaceful polls.
Fubura also disclosed that the security personnel had been instructed to arrest anyone who violated the restrictions or attempted to disrupt the process.
No end in sight to governor, predecessor’s feud
The ICIR further reports that with the latest decision by the governor, his feud with his predecessor and Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike, has been further escalated.
Wike, a member of Fubara’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is one of the major cabinet members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) federal government, led by President Bola Tinubu.
He helped to install Fubara, the state’s former accountant-general, as his successor.
No sooner than Fubara took over power than the two leaders turned rivals over who controlled the PDP’s structure in the state.
The crisis became intense when 27 members of the state House of Assembly loyal to Wike defected to the APC, leaving a splinter group of four members who have since been working with Wike.
Tinubu’s interventions to end the rivalry ended in a fiasco, as the enmity festered.
The two leaders have since exchanged verbal abuses, either directly or subtly for since the crisis started.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M