LG poll: INEC withholds register as Rivers, Wike’s camp clash

Ahead of the Rivers State local government elections scheduled for Saturday, October 5, the issue of the use of voter register for the conduct of the election has continued to generate controversies.

The PUNCH reports that Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, in his judgment on September 30, 2024, barred the Independent National Electoral Commission from releasing the voter register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission for the October 5 election.

On September 26, a few days before the judgment, the RSIEC Chairman, Justice Adolphus Enebeli (retd.), during the flag-off of the voter register at Ward 2, Unit 10 in Rumuodara town hall, Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of the state, revealed that the commission had received the voter register from INEC before the commencement of the legal proceedings.

“The commission under my charge is very proactive. A wise man can never be caught unawares. We are proactive, we follow due process.

“Even before the cases went to court, we had liaised with INEC, the correspondence is there.

“That is it. It is the gift of patience and planning. I’m not a last-minute man. I plan ahead. And so all these things were concluded since last year, the correspondences are there,” he said at the event.

 INEC, however, denied officially releasing the updated register to the RSIEC, contradicting claims made by the state electoral commission’s chairman.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner for Rivers State, Dr Johnson Sinikiem, speaking to newsmen in Port Harcourt, on Wednesday, said though RSIEC had requested the register, INEC had yet to hand over the document to it.

He said the process was ongoing before they received communication about a court order from INEC headquarters.

Sinikiem clarified that INEC’s Information Communication Technology Department housed the voter register in soft copy and would typically provide certified photocopies to RSIEC, but insisted that no such document had been handed over to the state election umpire.

“The tradition of the commission is that before an election for state at the local government, the only responsibility that we have is to give them a voter register because we are empowered to maintain and keep a voter register for the country.

“However, to make it very clear, the RSIEC has written to us about two times for the release of the register, but we have not released before we received from our headquarters an order from a Federal High Court restraining INEC from releasing the register.

“Till now, we have not officially handed over the Rivers State voter register to RSIEC. We have not.

“The ICT department housed the voter register and the voter register is in a soft copy and it is in two ways. Either we give it to them in soft copy, we photocopy it, both black and white and colour, then we stamp the certified true copy.

“But we have not given them. No register in our office will show that we have handed over such documents to them. But they have written to us,” he said.

Speaking on court orders, Sinikiem said he only received one court order from the INEC headquarters in Abuja, in compliance with the Federal High Court order, adding that he was unaware of a separate state high court order.

When asked the reason for the delay in releasing the voter register to RSIEC earlier, Sinikiem cited administrative procedures.

“I have one from the Federal High Court from Abuja, which was sent to me by the headquarters, directing me to comply with the court order. I have not seen another court order from the state high court.

“Well, it is administrative, it is not that we withheld it, but when the RSIEC requested, they had to come for the processes and that had not happened before we got the court order. We have not released the register,” he said.

When contacted, the RSIEC Commissioner for Public Affairs and Civic Education, Tamunotonye Tobins, said INEC could not deny providing it with the updated voter register for the upcoming council poll.

Tobins said RSIEC followed due process before obtaining the register for the elections, pointing out that the correspondences between the two electoral bodies were available.

“Well, that is not true and INEC cannot in good conscience say that, because the correspondences between the two bodies are here. We have the documents here.

“They (INEC) have given us all that we needed for the election and we are proceeding with the election.

“The 2023 updated register of voters for Rivers State is right now in our possession and we got it from INEC. This thing happened last year between July and October,” he said.

Tobins said the commission was ready to challenge INEC’s denial, even as he said the election materials had arrived at the RSIEC office, a reason there was a security beef-up at its office on Aba Road in Port Harcourt.

The RSIEC chairman maintained that the poll would go on, adding that an arrangement had been made for adequate security.

“I can tell you this for a fact, security is guaranteed, everybody is secure as far as the election is concerned. The sensitive materials are secure. They are not printed around as people are insinuating.

“If there are results that people are insinuating, we don’t know of that and there is nothing like that. I want to assure Rivers people that even the sensitive materials are embossed. They have security features that you cannot beat.

“It has not gone out. When it gets to the time for it to go out, that is on the election day proper, it will go out,” he said.

The commission, however, ruled out the transmission of results for the election electronically but assured the people that the exercise would be free and fair.

Tobins reiterated the commission’s commitment to ensuring a credible election process.

 Fubara declares two-day holiday

 Meanwhile, Governor Siminalayi Fubara has declared Thursday (today) and Friday (tomorrow) as public holidays, to enable residents of the state to travel to their various communities to participate in elections.

The governor also announced strict restrictions on vehicular movement from midnight on Friday, October 4, to 5 pm on election day.

He announced in a statewide broadcast to the people of the state, at the Government House, Port Harcourt, on Wednesday.

A statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Nelson Chukwudi, read: “My dear people of Rivers State, following the expiration of the three-year tenure of the chairmen and councillors of the 23 local government areas on the 17th of June 2023, I lawfully instituted caretaker committees to temporarily administer the 23 LGAs pending when the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission would conduct the Local Government elections in the state.

“To entrench sustainable democracy and good governance in the country’s local government system, the Supreme Court of Nigeria, by its judgement in SC/CV/343/2024: A-G Federation v A-G Abia State and 35 Ors delivered on 11th July 2024, effectively outlawed the administration of our local government councils with unelected officers and made several orders, including the immediate stoppage of statutory allocations to Local Government Councils without democratically elected local government councils.

“Following Mr President’s intervention, the period for compliance with the Supreme Court’s judgment was graciously extended by three months, which will expire on the 31st of October 2024.

“On the strength of these positive developments, I directed the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission 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.”

 Fubara said RSIEC had expressed and demonstrated “concrete and verifiable capacity and readiness to conduct the 2024 Rivers State Local Government Elections on the 5th of October 2024.”

“As of today, 17 out of 18 registered political parties, including the All Progressives Congress, have expressly and actively demonstrated their willingness to participate by filling candidates with RSIEC for the election.”

 Fubara said any failure on his part to conduct the election would be a clear disobedience of the Supreme Court’s mandatory order.

“Consequently, on the strengths of the provisions of the Constitution of Nigeria, as amended, the Supreme Court judgment in SC/CV/343/2024, and the judgment of the High Court of Rivers State in Suit No: PHC/2696/CS/2024, I hereby reiterate that the Rivers State government is irrevocably committed to conducting the local government elections on the 5th day of October 2024,” he said.

 He said RSIEC had been provided with all the necessary support to conduct the poll.

 “Therefore, I wish to advise and request all registered voters to go to their polling units to exercise their franchise by voting for the candidates of their choice, as security personnel would be there to maintain order and ensure peaceful polls as a matter of constitutional duty.

“We are leaving no stone unturned to enable all registered voters to travel to their communities to participate and peacefully exercise their civic responsibility at their polling units.

“To this end, I hereby declare Thursday and Friday, the 3rd and 4th of October 2024, as public holidays for citizens to travel to their communities and participate in the election.

“Furthermore, I hereby place a total restriction on vehicular and human movements into, within, and out of the state, and the LGs, from midnight of Friday, 4th October 2024 to 5.00 pm on Saturday 5th October 2024, except for persons and vehicles valid identifications who are on election and other essential duties,” Fubara said.

Pro-Fubara Assembly backs poll 

  The faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly loyal to Fubara, on Wednesday, ordered RSIEC to go on with the LG poll as scheduled.

 The House issued the order during its plenary on Wednesday.

The Speaker of the House loyal, Victor Oko-Jumbo, said conduct of the LG poll would enable Rivers State to comply with the Supreme Court judgment on LG autonomy.

 He said, “On the 11th day of July, 2024, the Supreme Court in suit No. SC/ CV/ 343/2024 delivered a landmark judgment affirming the financial autonomy of Nigeria’s 774 Local Government Councils.

“In that judgment, the apex court mandated that at all times, there must be a democratically elected local government councils in place, mandating all 36 states to comply.”

 The House, therefore, issued an order: “mandating the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission to utilise in their custody the national register of voters for the year 2023 general election as compiled by the Independent National Electoral Commission.”

“The Rivers State House of Assembly further orders that the Rivers State Government and the Executive Governor must conduct elections into the local Government Councils on the 5th day of October 2024 in compliance with the rule of law and judgment of the courts,” the Speaker said.

APC factions clash

 In another development, the crisis rocking the APC in Rivers State continues to fester as the camps of former Governor Rotimi Amaechi and former caretaker committee chairman, Chief Tony Okocha, maintained their positions ahead of the LG poll.

While Okocha, who is an ally of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, insisted on challenging the conduct of the council poll, the reinstated state chairman of the party, Chief Emeke Beke, loyal to Amaechi, said nothing would stop the election from being held.

Beke said the party had fielded candidates in 22 of the 23 LGs of the state.

While Okocha gave his stance at a news briefing held on Wednesday at the APC Secretariat located on Aba Road in Port Harcourt, Beke, at the party’s secretariat on Woji Road in GRA, Port Harcourt, presented flags to candidates to contest the election on the platform of the APC.

Okocha slammed Fubara for his insistence on going ahead with the October 5 poll, in disobedience to court orders.

Okocha argued that the governor sanctioned the conduct of the election despite the law that all parties be given a 90-day window to prepare for the election.

He argued further that Fubara violated the law by scheduling elections within 30 days instead of the 90 days stipulated by the law.

Okocha stated: “The governor and whatever action taken are illegal; we will stand with the law; we will not take the laws into our hands; but we will not allow him to perpetuate illegality.”

Beke, however, faulted Okocha, insisting that the APC, under his leadership, was fully ready to participate in Saturday’s election.

Beke said: “Today is a great day for the APC in Rivers State. I hear some people somewhere saying we will not participate in this election. We, the APC under my leadership, will participate in this Saturday’s election.”

He called on the police and other security agencies to arrest anyone trying to foment trouble in the forthcoming election.

Beke added: “Rivers State was a theatre of war during the former administration. Now we have a governor who has the fear of God and wants to conduct free, fair and credible elections in Rivers State.

”Nobody should cause problems in this state. If you cause problems the security agencies will chase you to your hole. I wish all our candidates for this election the best of luck. The people will speak, go and campaign for people in your local government areas.”

He added, “The election will take place on Saturday. There is no court judgment stopping it because there was a state High Court judgment before that of the Federal High Court and they are of coordinate jurisdiction.

“There is no tension anywhere. We know that some people will want to play the script of their masters but Rivers’ people are bigger than them.”

When asked if the former Minister of Transport is still the leader of the APC in the state, he answered in the affirmative, saying, “There is no way you will talk about the politics of Rivers State with the APC without Amaechi.

”With the election, we are proving to Rivers people and Nigeria that Amaechi is still strong and a member of the APC.”

 Leadership crisis hit APP

 Barely three days before the Local Government elections in Rivers State, a fresh leadership crisis hit the Action People’s Party in the state.

The party’s legitimacy has been called into question, with a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, on Wednesday, granting an order for substituted service in a case filed by Destiny Omereji and five others against APP and 27 others.

The plaintiffs claimed to be the authentic leaders and stakeholders of the APP, having emerged through the 2022 congress recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission in Rivers State.

They also challenged the legitimacy of the 23 chairmanship candidates of the party, questioning when they became members of the APP in the state.

The PUNCH reports that ahead of the October 5 LG elections in the state, some caretaker committee chairmen loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara defected to the Action People’s Party from the Peoples Democratic Party.

The development fuelled speculations that the governor may dump the ruling party for the APP, following the alleged hijack of the state PDP structure by his predecessor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

Fubara and Wike have been enmeshed in lingering misunderstanding which led to the political crisis in the state.

The governor, while playing host to the Board of Trustees of the PDP, led by Senator Adolphus Wabara, denied any defection plan and reaffirmed his membership in the PDP.

His loyal council chairmen and their supporters who were hitherto members of the PDP, however, pitched their tent with the APP.

Almost all the candidates vying for chairmanship and councillorship in the forthcoming LG poll were contesting under the APP platform.

A big billboard of the current CTC Chairman of Port Harcourt City Council, Ezebunwo Ichemati, with the APP logo campaigning for a substantive chairmanship position, was sighted while his posters adorned many parts of the metropolis.

Similarly, the CTC Chairman of Khana LGA, Marvin Yobana, and his supporters announced their defection to the APP.

At the court proceedings on Wednesday, counsel for the plaintiffs, Excel Omeghara, argued that the Hart Bardom-led executive remained the genuine leadership of the party, both at the state and local government levels.

The plaintiffs sought the reinstatement of Badom as the legitimate state chairman of the APP.

They also challenged the legitimacy of the 23 chairmanship candidates, questioning when they became APP members in the state.

Omeghara said the plaintiffs were not part of the primaries or electoral activities that brought in the candidates and asked the court to declare their emergence illegal.

Citing Section 78 of the APP constitution, Omeghara argued that when a position became vacant, the deputy would automatically assume, adding that if both the chairman and deputy resigned, a member of the party from the executive committee would fill the position.

Justice Emmanuel Obelle presided over the case and granted the expedited motion to serve the defendants through substituted means.

The crisis has raised concerns about the party’s candidates, many of whom were former PDP members who joined the APP recently, following internal wrangling.

There were concerns that some of the candidates had yet to formally resign their membership of the PDP.