Appeal Court Nullifies Ruling on Rivers LG Polls

Kehinde Fajobi

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has overturned a Federal High Court ruling that prevented the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing the voters register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) for local government elections.

Delivering the judgement on Thursday, the appellate court panel led by Justice Onyekachi Otisi ruled that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the case.

The panel stated, “Section 28 of the Electoral Act does not apply to elections conducted by state governments but only to federal elections, governorship elections, 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 dispute arose from conflicting court orders regarding the Rivers State local government election held on 5 October.

A Port Harcourt High Court had authorised RSIEC to conduct the elections using INEC’s 2023 voters register. Justice I.I. Igwe, citing a Supreme Court judgement on local government funding, also directed security agencies to support the election.

However, a Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Peter Lifu, barred INEC from releasing the register and prohibited security agencies from providing election security, citing RSIEC’s alleged legal violations.

Despite the Federal High Court’s ruling, RSIEC proceeded with the election based on the Port Harcourt court’s order, leading to security withdrawal by the police.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC), led by Tony Okocha, boycotted the polls. Candidates from the All Peoples Party (APP) won in 22 of the state’s 23 local government areas.

Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s allies, contesting under the APP due to intra-party disputes within the PDP, celebrated the appeal court’s decision.

Fubara’s government welcomed the judgement as a boost to public trust in the judiciary.

Joseph Johnson, Rivers State Commissioner for Information, described the ruling as “a landmark judgement that confirms Governor Siminalayi Fubara made the right decisions.”

He added, “This is just a pointer to more good news to come. The state government remains confident in its legal stance on other ongoing matters.”