Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has confirmed that the local government election set for October 5, 2024, will proceed as planned, stating that there is no legal barrier preventing the process.
The governor encouraged political parties, candidates, and the electorate to remain enthusiastic as they prepare to elect new council-level leaders.
In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Nelson Chukwudi, Fubara made this declaration following an inspection of the Trans-Kalabari Road project on Monday.
The governor also visited the headquarters of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC, where he met with the commission’s chairman, retired Justice Adolphus Enebeli.
He said: “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 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 staff at RSIEC, Governor Fubara revealed that he had received reports of plans by certain misguided individuals to disrupt the commission’s activities.
He issued a stern warning to those involved, urging them to reconsider their actions.
Fubara said: “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.”
On Monday, a Federal High Court in Abuja barred the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from releasing the 2023 voters’ register to RSIEC.
This ruling follows an earlier order by a High Court in Port Harcourt, which directed RSIEC to use the 2023 voters’ register for the upcoming local government elections in Rivers State.
Justice I. Igwe of the Port Harcourt High Court issued the order on September 4, 2024, in response to a case filed by the Action People’s Party, APP, against RSIEC, the Rivers State Government, and the Governor of Rivers State.
However, in a conflicting ruling, Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday halted INEC from releasing the voters’ register for the October 5, 2024 local government elections.
Additionally, the court barred the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Department of State Services, DSS, from providing security for the elections.
RSIEC had previously stated, last Thursday, that it had already obtained the voters’ register from INEC in 2023, ahead of the election.
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