Confusion over Rivers LG polls as REC denies releasing 2023 voter register to RSIEC

• Okocha-led APC vows to oppose processes, alleges illegality
• Amaechi-backed APC declares intention to participate in polls
• Leadership crisis hits APP as aggrieved members resist Fubara’s men

Ahead of Saturday’s local government election in Rivers State, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr Johnson Sinikiem, yesterday disclosed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has not handed over the state’s Voter Register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), contrary to claims that the latter has the document.

Speaking to newsmen in Port Harcourt, Sinikiem explained that INEC traditionally provides the voter register to RSIEC before local council elections, as mandated by law. However, he noted that the state’s INEC office had received two requests from RSIEC for the voter register, but compliance was hindered by an order from the Federal High Court, Abuja.

According to Sinikiem, the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) department of INEC houses the voter register in soft copy and would typically provide certified photocopies to RSIEC but insists that no such document has been handed over.

Sinikiem insisted he received only one directive from the INEC Headquarters in Abuja and the court order of the Federal High Court from Abuja directing compliance, but unaware of a separate state High Court order.

But Chairman of RSIEC, Justice Adolphus Enebeli, on September 26, revealed that RSIEC had received the voters register from INEC before any legal issue arose.

He had stated, “A wise man can never be taken unawares. We (RSIEC) are proactive. We follow due process. Even before the cases went to court, we liaised with INEC and got the register, the correspondences are there.”

This is as the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, led by Tony Okocha, has vowed to oppose the October 5 council polls, alleging that the processes are flawed and against the law.

He said, “We are watching Rivers drift into a state of lawlessness because of the flagrant impunity of one self-seeking man. I am worried because a philosopher of note said, in anarchy, it becomes illegal to be law-abiding.”

But running against the position of the Okocha-led APC that it will boycott the election citing litigation issues, another faction of APC in the state led by Emeka Beke, which is loyal to the former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, has declared interest to participate in Saturday’s elections.

Amidst the ensuing confusion, a fresh leadership crisis has rocked the Action Peoples Party (APP) in Rivers, which has lately received en mass loyalists of the governor, Similayi Fubara into its fold. The party’s legitimacy has been called into question with a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt granting an order for substituted service in a case filed by Destiny Omereji and five others against APP and 27 others.

According to Excel Omeghara, counsel to the plaintiffs, Hart Badom, Destiny Omereji, and four others, the court’s decision was a significant step forward in resolving the dispute. The party disclosed that it has submitted the names of its candidates for the various positions, expressing support for the polls.

The plaintiffs claim to be the authentic leaders and stakeholders of APP, having emerged through the 2022 Congress recognised by INEC in Rivers. They argue that they remain the genuine chairman and executives of the party, both at the state and local government levels.

The plaintiffs, including Hart Badom, Destiny Omereji, and four others, are seeking the reinstatement of Badom as the legitimate state chairman of APP. They also challenge the legitimacy of the 23 chairmanship candidates, questioning when they became members of APP in the state.