By Abiola Olawale
The ongoing political turmoil in Rivers State has once again escalated, casting doubt on the conduct of the upcoming local government election scheduled for October 5th and heightening the battle for the soul of Rivers State politics.
This is as a Federal High Court in Abuja once again barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing the voters’ register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) for the conduct of the proposed upcoming local government elections.
The presiding judge, Justice Peter Lifu, held that the RSIEC failed to adhere to relevant laws governing the conduct of an election before setting October 5 as the election date.
Justice Lifu issued the order on Monday while delivering judgment on a suit brought before him by the All Progressives Congress(APC) in Rivers State.
He also held that the Rivers State electoral body violated the provisions of the local government election law by failing to publish the mandatory 90-day notice before fixing the election date.
The judge further held that the updating and revision of the voters’ register should have been completed before a legally valid election date could be set. He consequently ordered INEC not to release the certified voters’ register to RSIEC until all legal requirements had been met.
Justice Lifu also barred RSIEC from accepting or using any voters’ register from INEC for the October 5 local government election. Additionally, the court prohibited the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Department of State Services (DSS) from providing security for the election.
The New Diplomat reports that this is coming after Justice Lifu, in a ruling on an ex-parte motion filed by the APC, initially issued an order restraining INEC from releasing the voters’ register to RSIEC.
The judge on 19 July, also restrained the IGP and DSS from participating or providing security for the RSIEC in conducting the election.
This comes after an order of a high court in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, which ordered RSIEC to conduct the forthcoming local government elections in the state, using the 2023 voters’ register.
Justice I. Igwe of the High Court gave the order on September 4, 2024, in a case instituted by the Action People’s Party (APP) against the State Electoral umpire, the Rivers State Government and the Governor of Rivers State.
