Rivers APC condemns attempts to block LG allocations

The court-backed Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has strongly condemned attempts to block local government allocations in the state, describing it as a “civilian coup d’état.”

In a press statement signed by its spokesman, Darlington Nwauju, the party criticized the National Working Committee-backed caretaker committee chairman, Tony Okocha, for boasting about obtaining a judgment from a court of coordinate jurisdiction in Abuja to stop allocations to local governments in Rivers State. Nwauju noted that such actions frustrate thousands of Rivers residents who rely on the local government system for their livelihoods.

Nwauju stressed the importance of electoral bodies’ independence, citing Section 87 of the 2010 Electoral Act, and commended the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) for conducting local government elections on October 5, 2024.

“Section 87 of the 2010 Electoral Act bars courts from stopping INEC from carrying out its electoral duties. Section 60 (2) of the 2018 Rivers State Local Government Act draws strength from the Electoral Act.

“Attempting to arrest electoral processes that are ongoing or nearly concluded is tantamount to a coup on our democratic norms. Recall that in 2004, when President Olusegun Obasanjo ordered the confiscation of funds belonging to Lagos State on the grounds that new local government areas were created, the state government stood its ground and won the case.

“Again, in 2005, the National Assembly enacted a law for monitoring local government funds in the country by appointing monitoring committees. States challenged the law in court, and the Supreme Court ruled that the Federal Government has no power to monitor funds meant for local governments because they are democratically elected.”

The APC spokesman reiterated the 2004 case, where President Obasanjo’s attempt to withhold Lagos State’s funds was thwarted by the state government. He also referenced the 2005 Supreme Court judgment that barred the Federal Government from monitoring local government funds.

Nwauju urged those involved to support the implementation of the Justice Muhammad Uwais Panel report, which recommends that members of electoral bodies be appointed through advertisement and vetted by a body before being recommended to the House of Assembly.