Rivers State Government has declared that the June 16, 2018 Local Government Elections in the state will hold as scheduled because there is no legal impediment stopping the polls.
Rivers Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Emmanuel Aguma (SAN), stated the position of the state government in a radio programme in Port Harcourt at the weekend.
The Rivers State Attorney General also declared that the All Progressive Congress (APC ) went to court to validate the 2015 Local Government Election, but lost as the court dismissed the matter.
He said: “The High Court of Rivers State dismissed that case and told them that those elected during the 2015 Local Government Elections have no tenure.”
The Rivers State State Attorney General noted that the APC never appealed the judgment of suit number PHC/47/2015 which stated that the May 25, 2015 local government election was illegal.
He noted that the Rivers State APC briefed Roland Otaru (SAN) who filed the suit on their behalf. Judgment was delivered on September 30, 2015.
He said under the new law governing local government election, nobody can stop local government elections.
According to him, section 62: 2 of the Rivers State Local Government Election was lifted from Section 87: 10 of the Electoral 2010 (as amended), which bars the stoppage of elections.
“This law works at the Federal Level. Why won’t it work at the state level? ” he asked.
He explained that what is pending at the Supreme Court is whether or not the sacked council chiefs can be granted the right to appeal their dissolution.
