Court reserves judgement in APC suit against local government election in Rivers

The Federal High Court in Abuja has reserved judgment in a suit filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) challenging the conduct of local government elections in Rivers State.

The judge, Peter Lifu, said at the final hearing on Thursday that parties to the suit would be notified of the judgment date in due time.

The APC filed the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/987/2024 to stop the elections, scheduled for 15 October.

During the session, Joseph Daudu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), lead counsel for the APC, pushed for the court to grant the prayers sought by his client, arguing that the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) had not met the necessary conditions to conduct the local government elections.

Taiwo Taiwo, a SAN representing the Attorney General of Rivers State, and Femi Falana, also a SAN representing the RSIEC, both opposed the suit and challenged the court’s jurisdiction to hear the case.

They contended that the proper venue for the case should be the Federal High Court’s division in Rivers State, not Abuja.

They also argued that the suit was statute-barred and should not be entertained by the court.

They also challenged the court’s authority as a vacation court to hear the matter without the consent of all parties.

However, the plaintiff maintained that RSIEC had failed to meet the legal prerequisites for conducting the local government elections.

The suit

In its suit, the APC contended that RSIEC breached the provisions of the Electoral Act and the Nigerian constitution requiring state election bodies to give a 360-day notice to INEC before any election.

The party said the notice would have enabled INEC to stop the continuous voter registration and update the register at least 90 days before the election.

The APC also argued that the law permits political parties to conduct primaries and submit the list of their nominated candidates no later than 180 days before the election. Since RSIEC breached the law by failing to give adequate notice, it has become impossible for INEC and political parties to meet other legal requirements concerning them.

The party argued that RSIEC failed to adhere to the law when it applied to INEC to release a copy of the Register of Voters for Rivers State.

It said INEC was still conducting continuous registration and updating the National Register of Voters, including for Rivers State. The party said that the continuous registration exercise had not stopped, nor did INEC receive the 360-day notice.

The APC prayed the court to, among others, declare that INEC is not authorised to compile, certify, and release the voter register to RSIEC unless it had received notice of the election 360 days before the proposed date and ceased continuous registration and updating of the register at least 90 days before the election date.

Background

On 18 July, the court issued an interim order at the APC’s instance barring INEC from releasing the voter register to RSIEC for use in the upcoming election.

The order also barred the police and the State Security Service (SSS) from providing security during the elections.

In the ruling, Mr Lifu ordered all the parties to maintain the status quo until the substantive suit could be heard.

The case is connected with the broader political crisis in Rivers State, where Governor Siminalayi Fubara of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is battling with his predecessor and current Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, for political control.

The administration of local governments has been stalled in the state, an offshoot of the political tension between the two leaders.

Mr Fubara dissolved the elected local government chairpersons after their terms expired on 17 June.

He appointed administrative heads to oversee the councils.

However, 27 state lawmakers, loyal to Mr Wike, amended the local government administration law to extend the chairpersons’ tenure by six months and stripped Governor Fubara of the power to appoint a caretaker committee.

READ ALSO: Rivers Crisis: PDP governors dare Wike, vow to continue support for Fubara

A police officer was killed in June in Eberi-Omuma in Omuma Local Government Area of Rivers State during a clash between rival groups beholden to Governor Fubara and Mr Wike in the aftermath of the appointment of local government caretaker committees.

Due to the violent development, the police have since taken over the secretariats of the 23 local government areas in the state, preventing the newly appointed caretaker committees from assuming office.