By Abiola Olawale
The political turmoil bedeviling Rivers State has taken another dramatic twist as the Supreme Court of Nigeria has ordered the immediate removal of all local government chairmen in Rivers State.
This is as the apex court declared that the local government elections conducted on the 5th of October 2024 by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) was illegal, and therefore null and void.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Jamilu Tukur, the court declared the election invalid for grossly violating the Electoral Act.
Reading the judgement, Justice Tukur said the action of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission is declared void for lack of substantial compliance with the Electoral Act and guidelines as the electoral body continued voter registration even after announcing an election date.
The court held that processes leading to the conduct of a local government election were abridged in clear violation of Section 150 of the Electoral Act.
The ruling came amid a protracted legal battle initiated by a coalition of opposition parties who challenged the legitimacy of the local government elections held in Rivers State on October 5, 2024.
The plaintiffs argued that the polls, conducted under the supervision of the RSIEC, were marred by widespread irregularities, voter suppression, and flagrant violations of the Electoral Act.
Central to their case was the allegation that the state government, led by Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, allegedly manipulated the process.
The case began at the Rivers State High Court in November 2024, where Justice Chiwendu Nworgu dismissed the suit, ruling that the plaintiffs lacked sufficient evidence to substantiate their claims.
Dissatisfied, the coalition appealed to the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, which, in a split decision on January 15, 2025, upheld the lower court’s ruling.
Undeterred, the petitioners took the matter to the Supreme Court, arguing that the lower courts failed to address critical constitutional breaches, particularly the lack of autonomy for local government councils as enshrined in Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
In their appeal, the plaintiffs contended that the RSIEC, an agency directly funded and controlled by the state government, lacked the independence required to conduct free and fair elections.
The sacking of the Rivers local government chairmen comes at a time of heightened political tension in the state, fueled by the ongoing rivalry between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
