Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has reaffirmed that the Rivers LGA elections scheduled for October 5, 2024, will go ahead as planned, stating there are no legal impediments to the process, PulseNets learned.
Governor Fubara, through his Chief Press Secretary, Nelson Chukwudi, urged political parties, candidates, and voters to stay enthusiastic as they prepare for the polls to elect new local government leaders. This statement came after the governor’s inspection of the Trans-Kalabari Road project on Monday.
During a visit to the headquarters of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), Fubara met with the commission’s chairman, retired Justice Adolphus Enebeli. He told PulseNets: “Our election will hold on the 5th of October, 2024. I’m aware that RSIEC told me that 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 hold. 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.”
While addressing RSIEC staff, Fubara disclosed, PulseNets reported, that he had received intelligence about attempts by some individuals to sabotage the commission’s activities. He issued a stern warning to those plotting such actions, urging them to reconsider.
He spoke to PulseNets, saying: “What is important to me is the interest of Rivers State, that it has to be alive. 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.”
Meanwhile, PulseNets learnt that a Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday prohibited the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing the 2023 voters’ register to RSIEC. This ruling follows a prior directive from a High Court in Port Harcourt, which had ordered RSIEC to use the 2023 register for the upcoming local government elections.
Also Read: Rivers LGA Election: Court bars INEC from releasing voters register to Rivers electoral commission
Justice I. Igwe of the Port Harcourt High Court had ruled on September 4, 2024, in response to a case brought by the Action People’s Party (APP) against RSIEC, the Rivers State Government, and Governor Fubara. However, in a conflicting ruling, Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja barred INEC from releasing the register for the October 5 elections and also restrained the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Department of State Services (DSS) from providing security for the event.
Despite the court order, RSIEC had informed PulseNets last Thursday that it had already obtained the voters’ register from INEC in 2023, ahead of the elections.
