Appeal Court nullifies judgement against Rivers LG poll

The judge held that the Electoral Act does not cover elections conducted by states.

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has nullified a judgement of the Federal High Court that barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing the voters register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) for the conduct of local elections in the state.

The appellate court panel, led by Onyekachi Otisi, held on Thursday that the lower court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit.

The court held that Section 28 of the Electoral Act does not accommodate elections conducted by state governments but only federal elections, governorships, and area council elections in the Federal Capital Territory.

The Electoral Act does not apply to local government elections and the lower court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the appeal,” the panel held, according to Punch newspaper report.

Background

The Rivers State local government election held on 5 October was the subject of conflicting court orders.

For instance, a State High Court in Port Harcourt had empowered RSIEC to conduct local elections using the 2023 INEC voters register.

The judge, I.I. Igwe, who gave the order in September, cited the Supreme Court judgement that ordered the federal government to discontinue funding local government without elected officials.

Mr Igwe had directed the police and State Security Service (SSS) to provide security for the elections.

However, a Federal High Court in Abuja, in its judgement, barred INEC from releasing the voter register to RSIEC for the election.

The judge, Peter Lifu, had further barred the police and the SSS from providing security for the election as, according to him, RSIEC violated the law’s provisions.

The case was instituted by a faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State headed by Tony Okocha, who was sacked by a court in the state.

In compliance with Justice Lifu’s order, the police withdrew security for the election while the local election commission went ahead with it, relying on the order of Justice Igwe.

The elections

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Okocha-led APC faction boycotted the 5 October elections.

Despite their boycott, the election went ahead, and the candidates of the All Peoples Party (APP) won in 22 of the 23 local government areas in the state.

Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s loyalists contested on the platform of the APP after the PDP, the governor’s party, boycotted the election in solidarity with Nyesom Wike, the minister of FCT, who is at loggerheads with the governor.

Rivers Government speaks on judgement

Dissatisfied with the Federal High Court’s ruling, some Fubara loyalists filed an appeal, praying the appellate court to invalidate the judgement, which the court granted.

The Guardian newspaper reported that the Rivers State Government reacted to the ruling by describing it as a landmark judgement that would restore the people’s confidence in the judiciary.

“It has been a happy mood in Rivers State. This confirms that Governor Siminalayi Fubara made the right decisions. This is just a pointer to more good news to come, “the Commissioner for Information, Joseph Johnson said of the validation of the election.

“There’s no cause for alarm on other matters in court, stating that the state government is on the side of law,” he added.