Rivers LG polls: ‘Go to court,’ RSIEC tells aggrieved parties
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By Dan Abia, John Alechenu & Davies Iheamnachor
Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC, has told aggrieved political parties and their candidates, in the just concluded local government elections in the state, to go court, as the law has provided a channel for redress.
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This came as the state Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ikot Ibas (retd), yesterday, swore in the newly elected chairmen of the 23 councils of the state.
Meanwhile, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Mr. Nyesom Wike, yesterday, dismissed the criticism by opposition leaders about the conduct of the council elections in Rivers State, saying that the exercise had not been declared illegal by a court of law.
This came as the presidential candidate of Labour Party, LP, in the 2023 general elections, Mr. Peter Obi, described Saturday’s council elections in the state as not only tragic but also a mockery of democracy.
Meanwhile, Labour Party, LP, has demanded electoral and judicial reforms to protect the integrity of Nigeria’s democracy, describing the councils elections in Rivers State as proof that absurdity has been elevated to the position of state craft by the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the government it leads.
Also, Chief Executive Officer of TAF Africa, Jake Epelle, described the LG polls as a democratic scam, explaining that the exercise was totally unconstitutional, having been conducted by a government that was not democratically elected.
The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC, Chairman, Mr. Michael Odey, who earlier handed the certificate to the winners of the polls, said: “The candidates, who may feel aggrieved, the law has provided a channel for redress. We encourage the use of lawful and peaceful process. As a commission, we shall conduct a post election review to consolidate lessons learnt and to keep improving our systems and service delivery.
“To our elected officials, I ask you to reaffirm your commitment to the code of conduct and the values of integrity. The legitimacy you received today, will be sustained only by the quality of leadership tomorrow.”
He further commended all critical stakeholders including community leaders, security agencies, civil society organisation and the media for their exemplary conduct, vigilance and dedication, saying that their collective efforts made the entire process peaceful, credible and orderly.
Ibas swears in 23 council chairmen
Performing the ceremony in Government House, Port Harcourt, yesterday, Ibas charged the Chairmen to deliver selfless service to their people and ensure grassroots development.
He said: “This victory is not a prize to be enjoyed. It is a burden to be carried. It is not an entitlement, but a duty. It is not a call to self-interest, but to selfless service.”
Ibas noted that leadership must move beyond the politics of patronage, but focus on delivering measurable services that improve the lives of citizens at the grassroots.
He hailed the peaceful and successful conduct of the council elections, as a decisive step towards reinstating constitutional order and a testament to the resilience of the people of the state.
He said: “You proved that democracy belongs to the people, that power must flow from the consent of the governed, and that no obstacle can weaken the resolve of a united citizenry.”
Rivers LG polls, mockery of democracy, says Peter Obi
Obi, on his verified X handle, yesterday, said: .”The conduct of the Rivers State council elections is rascality taken too far.
“It represents a double tragedy for our democracy when a Sole Administrator, himself illegally appointed dares to conduct an election that should empower the people. This is not democracy, it is the outright desecration of its very foundation.
“Such actions are unconstitutional, legally untenable, and morally indefensible. They send a dangerous message that the rule of law can be discarded at the whim of those in power.
“But the truth remains unshaken: illegality can never give birth to legitimacy. Any structure erected on a foundation of lawlessness is a danger to both the state and the people.
“Nigeria cannot afford to continue on this perilous path. We cannot pretend to practise democracy while silencing the will of the people, especially at the grassroots, where democracy matters most.
“If we truly seek progress, we must uphold the sanctity of the ballot, safeguard the people’s right to choose, and insist that leadership at every level flows from their mandate – not from contraptions that mock democracy.
“Only then will governance have meaning, and only then can the sacred bond of trust between leaders and the people be restored. A new Nigeria is possible.”
Court hasn’t declared elections illegal, Wike replies Atiku, Obi
Speaking during a media parley, while reacting to the comments by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and Obi, who described the elections as unlawful, Wike said that the polls were legally conducted and commended by many for being free and fair.
He stated, “Listen, I don’t blame Atiku, he didn’t know that his boss signed the emergency rule in 2004. If he knew, if he was obedient and working along with his boss, who was [former] President Olusegun Obasanjo, he would have known that the President has the power to make regulations for the governance of emergency areas.
“So, he was not in tune. He doesn’t know, and as I said, what you don’t know, don’t comment about it. If Atiku had comments about Customs, I know he has worked in Customs. I can give it to him, but this is law.
“He doesn’t know that the 2004 emergency rule was signed by his boss.
“Look at the man; look at his antecedents. In 1999, he was in the PDP. In 2007, he ran on the platform of the Action Congress. In 2011, he came back to the PDP to run for the presidential ticket; he left.”
Labour Party demands electoral, judicial reforms
Interim National Publicity Secretary of the party, Toni Akeni in a chat with Vanguard, in Abuja, said: “The only solution for Nigerians to emancipate themselves is to rise in unison today, not wait till 2027, to demand drastic visceral amendments to the Nigeria constitution.
“The first, foremost and non-negotiable amendment should be to remove from the Nigerian constitution the powers of the President and state governors to appoint INEC officials and judicial officers at their respective federal and state tiers of government.
“The Rivers election was not an election but a gang-rape of Rivers State electorate and people.
“It was simply one man called Tinubu asking another man called Wike to shepherd INEC, Nigeria’s security agencies and their extension of ballot rigging political thugs to tell Rivers people that they, along with 200million Nigerians everywhere else in our country, are back in the dark days and horrors of Africa’s colonial conquest, captivity and slavery.
“The Rivers council elections, just like the recent August 16, by-elections, were used by President Tinubu and Wike to tell Nigerians two things.”
Rivers LG polls democratic scam, totally illegal — Jake Epelle
In an interview on Channels Television, Epelle said: “I say that everything about this election that was held on Saturday was totally illegal and unconstitutional.
“The people of Rivers State, we are smart, we’re civilised. They probably thought that people would take to the streets, and I did call on the people, especially the good youth of Rivers State, not to fall into their trap.
“It is absolutely a slap on the people of Rivers State, and we cannot continue the way we are going,” he added.
He also stated that the figures released by the state electoral body did not accurately represent what actually occurred during the exercise.
RSIEC advises aggrieved parties to seek redress in court
RSIEC’s Chairman, Mr. Michael Odey, who handed the certificate to the winners of the Saturday council polls, told them that the certificate is not only a sign of triumph, but a mandate for service.
Odey said: ‘Today is a proud moment in the history of Rivers State. I want to thank the people of Rivers State for the exemplary conduct. I commend the security agencies for their professionalism, the candidates for their maturity, civil society and the media for their vigilance.
“Your conducts made the election credible and orderly. Let me emphasise that, sovereignty ultimately belongs to the people and so the ballot they cast are a solen with us.
“This certificate of return are not only trophies of triumph, they are mandates for service. To our newly elected chairmen and councillors, govern with humility, transparency and fidelity to the law.
“Be leader to all, supporters and non-supporters alike. The winners takes it all politics has no place in local governance.”
The RSIEC Chairman, however, encouraged aggrieved parties and their candidates to seek redress peacefully or legally.
He promised that the commission would conduct post election review to consolidate on the lessons learnt and improve on it services.
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