The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has faulted plans by the state’s electoral body to proceed with local government elections on August 30, warning that the exercise risks disenfranchising voters and breaching a Supreme Court ruling.
APC spokesperson, Darlington Nwauju, said the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission should delay the polls until the Independent National Electoral Commission completes its continuous voter registration in the state, in line with the apex court’s February judgement on the use of updated registers for elections.
“I do not think you’re supposed to have an election in the middle of voter registration, given that many who have attained voting age this year will be alienated or disenfranchised,” Nwauju said, accusing RSIEC of selectively adopting decisions from the dissolved 6th commission led by Justice Adolphus Enebeli (retd).
The APC position adds to mounting opposition from civil society groups, prominent politicians, and a pending court suit seeking to halt the exercise.
 Stakeholders had argued that both RSIEC and the state’s Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), lack the legitimacy to organise the LG poll under the current emergency rule in the state.
Despite the criticisms, RSIEC and the administrator have stood firm, insisting the August 30 date is non-negotiable.
RSIEC Commissioner in charge of Political Parties’ Affairs, Monitoring and Security, Godfrey Woke, said the voter register obtained in March remains valid and the commission has already begun screening chairmanship, vice-chairmanship, and councillorship candidates.
In an interview with Sunday PUNCH, Woke said, “The date for the local government elections in Rivers State is sacrosanct. We are not shifting from what we are doing,” Woke said, stressing that the timetable was drawn in line with the RSIEC Act.
“We (RSIEC) are following our guidelines and our timetable, and we have not deviated from the timetable according to the RSIEC Act. This timetable was adjusted because the date for the election was changed because RSIEC was not able to conduct an election at that time. And the law also allows us to change the date to a better date, and that is what we have just done. We cannot change it again. We had already obtained our voters register before INEC came up with that.”
Also, the Sole Administrator, speaking through his Senior Special Adviser on Media, Hector Igbikiowubo, maintained that RSIEC was cleared to conduct the poll by the National Assembly, which assumed legislative powers in the state after the declaration of emergency rule.
“When people talk about legality, are they wishing away the powers of the National Assembly? RSIEC has the legal basis to do what it is doing. You can’t wish that away,” he said.
He added, “What we must understand is that RSIEC wasn’t cleared by the Administrator. RSIEC was cleared by the National Assembly. Whenever there is an emergency rule, like we have now in the state, you find out that legislative powers rest with the National Assembly.
“If you look at it holistically, you will see that the National Assembly has acted within its powers, and from there on, RSIEC has the legal basis to do what it is doing. You can’t wish that away.”
