By Philip Ezuma, Port Harcourt
The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives’ Congress APC has expressed strong opposition to the proposed 5the October Local Government elections, asking the government and Governor Sir Siminilaiye Fubara, to adhere to court judgement and orders.
The Chairman Caretaker Committee, CTC Chief Tony Okocha also accused the governor of dragging Rivers State into a state of lawlessness, philosophizing that, ‘in a state of anarchy, it becomes illegal to be law abiding’.
“The governor of Rivers State, has ruled, and continues to rule this state with impunity, and we will not stand akimbo, to watch him drift the state to abysmal oblivion, by the reason of trying to push to us, his personal idiosyncrasies.
Chief Okocha reminded Nigerians that APC is a party with the government at the centre, hence they need to let other parties, the President, members of the National Assembly know their plight.
“Should we submit to the state government to envelope APC in Rivers State? Should we concede to the deliberate attempt by one man to annihilate APC in Rivers State? The obvious answer is no.
When we say the governor is ruling the State with impunities, you can understand what we mean. You will understand the judgement of Justice Omotosho of a federal High Court, on the issue of who is the Speaker of the genuine members of the State House of Assembly.
Speaking further, the Publicity Secretary Hon. Chibuike Ikenga, decried that the governor had been ruling the state with extreme impunity, hence had christened it ‘unprecedented impunity’.
Hon Ikenga disclosed that the APC Caretaker Committee in the state, headed by Chief Tony Okocha, having met to assess the developments, particularly, as it affects the proposed LG polls on the 5th October, 2024, opposed it in its entirety, based on violation of the government and governor of court orders and judgements.
“Recall that on Monday, there was a reinforcement of the order, given by the federal High Court, in Abuja, under Hon Justice Lifu. Ladt Monday was the judgement, which barred the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission RISIEC from going ahead with the proposed Local Government polls on 5th October, 2024.
The same judgement equally restrained the Nigeria Police from providing security, and equally barred the department of State Security Services SSS from providing any form of security, for the conduct of the same elections. That same judgement did restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, which of course is in custody of the voters’ register for the conduct of the election, from releasing voters’ register to RISIEC,” he submitted.
The Publicity Secretary further affirmed that, that judgement in question, captured all aspects of the proposed elections, and put a stop to it, pending, when some of the issues, raised therein would have been addressed, so a proper fit time for local government election in Rivers State to be conducted.
According to him, the judgement did say that the actions of the RISIEC were totally inconsistent with the Local Government laws, particularly, as it affects the 90-day notice required before the LG elections in the State will be undertaken.
“So they failed to do that, which is against Rivers State LG Laws, which clearly ought to be the basis upon which the LG election guidelines and procedures will be anchored.
Also the INEC, in custody of the voters’ register, have been barred from doing so, the reason from the court, as handed down by Justice Lifu, is the fact that the LG poll ought to be conducted with updated voters’ register”, he insisted on.
Hon Ikenga recalled that the last election that was held in 2023, has interval of nearly two years, hence between then and now, some citizens of the state ought to have come to age of 18, and a list of them have signaled to us that they have not been captured, nor registered, and their willingness to participate in further elections, and especially the LG elections.
In conclusion, he warned, “that if allowed, would have disenfranchised the citizens of this country and particularly Rivers State, but the electoral Act and that of the Rivers State Local Government Law did not contemplate that. They did not envisage that anybody should, who is qualified, be disenfranchised.
“Finally, RISIEC and the Rivers State government, have the chance for disobedience to court orders, judgments, and that’s the recipe for crisis. We call on the media world to properly capture this, for we are not in the banana republic,” he summed up.
