Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) has assured of its readiness for the local government elections billed for today, October 5, 2024.
By Emma Ogbuehi
The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) has assured of its readiness for the local government elections billed for today, October 5, 2024.
RSIEC made the disclosure in a late Friday release that aimed at assuring the electorate that the election will go on as scheduled. The Commission also dismissed claims about the resignation of its Chairman Justice Adolphus Enebeli (Retired), describing it as baseless.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we emphasize unequivocally that the 5th October 2024 Local Government Council Elections in Rivers State will hold as scheduled, and there is no going back,” RSIEC said in a statement by its Commissioner for Civil Education/Public Affairs Tobin Tamunotonye.
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Quoting the RSIEC LAW of 2018 and the judgment of Hon Justice I.P.C. Igwe of the High Court of Rivers State delivered on 4th September 2024, and the 1999 Constitution, he said the agency is empowered to conduct local government elections in the state.
He disclosed that the commission has transported non-sensitive materials to polling units across the state, and the updated 2023 voter registers have been made available at all 6,366 polling units.
RSIEC described the polls as “critical and in line with the order on RSIEC from the Supreme Court of Nigeria,” and emphasised that “voting centres will be open on time as scheduled as materials have been moved to the respective distribution points for all the polling unit and voters registers also released to election staff.”
On the purported resignation of its Chairman Justice Adolphus Enebeli (Retired), RSIEC dismissed the insinuation as mischievously false, baseless, and a fabricated lie from the pit of Hell calculated to mislead the public.
“The above claim is mischievously false, baseless, and a fabricated lie from the pit of Hell calculated to mislead the public. For the avoidance of doubt the Chairman /Chief Electoral Commissioner is still in charge and has not resigned as maliciously circulated across the media space,” the commission said.
RSIEC’s confirmation of the poll comes as the President of the Nigeria Bar Association, Afam Osigwe, faulted a statement by the Rivers State police command that it won’t provide security during the Rivers Local Government election in compliance with a court judgment.
Recall that a Federal High Court ordered the police not to provide security during the council election. The police said it would comply with the court judgment.
But the NBA said while it is aware of the court judgment, it argued that is wrong for the police to latch on it and abdicate from its responsibility of protecting lives and property.
