Fubara insists Rivers local election holds on Saturday despite court order

Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State said the local elections in the state will be held on Saturday as scheduled despite a court order barring it.

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing voters’ registers to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the judge, Peter Lifu, barred the Inspector-General of Police and the State Security Services from providing security for the elections.

The case was instituted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State under the leadership of Tony Okocha, the former chairperson of the party caretaker committee in the state, who was sacked by a court.

Justice Lifu held that RSIEC had failed to comply with key provisions of the electoral law, including the requirement to publish a 90-day notice before setting an election date.

In an apparent move to reassure the people that the election will be held, Mr Fubara visited RSIEC headquarters in Port Harcourt on Monday, where he met with the commission’s chairperson, Adoldphus Enebeli, and other principal officers.

During the visit, Governor Fubara insisted that the election would be held on Saturday as scheduled, emphasising that it would be the best election ever in the state.

This is contained in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Monday by Mr Fubara’s spokesperson, Nelson Chukwudi.

“Our election will be held on the 5th of October, 2024. I’m aware that RSIEC told me they already had an order mandating them to conduct the election on the 5th of October 2024, and the security agencies to support them.

“So, I think with that order, the election will be held. I might not be a lawyer, but I know there is something they call first-in-hand, and since they have the first-in-hand, we will give them all the necessary support for that election to be conducted. And it will be one of the best elections ever conducted free and fair in this State,” he said.

The governor said he was aware of plans by some “misguided fellows to disrupt” the activities of the commission and warned those behind the plans to retrace their steps.

“What is important to me is the interest of Rivers State. It doesn’t belong to anybody. I don’t care who nominated you but do the right thing, that is what is important to me, because if we make a mistake today, it is going to live with us forever.

“Nobody has a right to come here. This is Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission. It belongs to Rivers State, and I am the governor. So, if there is anything, let me know, I will come here myself,” Mr Fubara said.

PDP boycotts polls

Governor Fubara’s loyalists are contesting the election under the platform of the Action Peoples Party (APP) after the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), whose platform Mr Fubara became governor said it would not participate in the exercise.

Mr Fubara’s predecessor, Nyesom Wike, who is the FCT minister, controls the PDP structure in Rivers. Messrs Fubara and Wike have been engaged in a protracted fight over the control of the political structure in the state.

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Besides PDP, the APC under the leadership of Mr Okocha who was sacked by a court in the state had also said the party will not participate in the election.

However, Emeka Beke, whose leadership of the APC in Rivers, was reinstated after Mr Okocha was sacked, said the party will participate in the election.